Amen. All right. Well, you're there in Revelation chapter 20. Keep your place there and go with
me to the book of 1 Corinthians just real quickly. 1 Corinthians chapter 13. I'll do
my best to stand on my tippy toes so you can see me. I feel like everywhere I go to preach
there's just this running practical joke where the pulpits get bigger and bigger. I don't
know. Revelation chapter number, you're in Revelation 20. Go to 1 Corinthians 13. I'll
go ahead and give you a hint. I'm going to be tonight in the book of Revelation in 1
Corinthians. We're also going to be in Isaiah a lot. So if you want to keep your place in
those sections when we get to Isaiah, that would be good. 1 Corinthians 13. I want to
say thank you, of course, Pastor Anderson, for having us here. I'm always excited to
be at Faithful Word Baptist Church. This place is an amazing place and thank you. I'm sorry
to those of you who thought you would get to the conference early to hear an extra Pastor
Anderson sermon. We kind of baited and switched you there, so sorry about that. 1 Corinthians
13. Why don't you look down at verse number 9. 1 Corinthians 13, 9. The Bible says this,
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect is come, then
that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I
understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish
things. For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part,
but then shall I know, even as also I am known. As we get into the subject of prophecy, and
we're going to be hearing a lot of great sermons this week on the subject of prophecy. Something
you need to understand about prophecy is that we really know in part. And this is the Apostle
Paul speaking, who was given a lot of revelation. He wrote most of the New Testament, and even
the Apostle Paul himself is saying, For we know in part, we prophesy in part, for now
we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall
I know. So you need to understand that we do our best to study the Bible and to look
at the Scriptures, but a lot of these things we may not really understand until they get
closer. And the closer we get, the more we will understand. The closer we get, the more
that it's going to make sense. Tonight I'm going to be preaching on the subject of the
Millennium, or the Millennial Reign of Christ. And I just want you to understand that, like
I said, when you get to subjects like the Millennium, the New Heaven, the New Earth,
we're the furthest away from that as possible. So it's hard to really get a picture. Tonight
I'm going to do my best to stick to the clear Scriptures of the Millennium and to try to
teach you about the Millennium and try to preach a sermon that's clear, that's understandable.
I want to focus on the passages of the Scriptures that are clear, and we won't spend too much
time in the ones that are kind of dark or not understandable. So I'm going to do my
best to preach a sermon that's clear and understandable. We'll do that for a few minutes. If it doesn't
seem to go well, then I'll switch gears and I'll just preach a sermon against the Millennials.
So maybe that will work out. I don't know. We'll see. But I want you to keep your place
there in 1 Corinthians 13. Go back to the book of Revelation, and we read chapter 20,
but look at chapter number 19 just real quickly. Chapter number 19. And I want to begin by
just talking about the events that will lead into the Millennium, the events that lead
into the Millennium. And something you need to know about the Millennium is that it's
basically book-ended by similar events. When you lead into the Millennium, you've got a
great battle and you also have a judgment that takes place. At the end of the Millennium,
the Millennium ends with, again, another great battle and a judgment. So let's look at those
things as we look at the events that lead into the Millennium. The first thing we see
is what's known as the Battle of Armageddon. Notice Revelation 19 and verse number 11.
The Bible says this,
Now we know that's none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Word. Notice verse 14.
Not only do we see Jesus coming here to fight the Battle of Armageddon, but we see Him coming
with His army, with His saints. Verse 14.
This is what Jude talks about. And you have to turn there. But in Jude 1, 14, the Bible
says that Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying,
Notice verse 15 there in Revelation 19.
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations,
and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness
and the wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written,
King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
So as we look at this passage about the Battle of Armageddon, we kind of look at the contenders.
Who are the ones that are going to be part of this battle? And on one side, we see the
Lord Jesus Christ and His army. We see the Lord Jesus Christ and His saints.
On the other side, we see the enemy. Look at verse 17.
All men, both free and bond, both small and great.
And I want you to notice that the fowls are being told, hey, this side's going to lose,
so get ready because you're going to be able to come and eat on the dead bodies of these
men that are going to lose. And I want you to notice that we're specifically told who's
there. There are kings there. There are captains. You know, talking about military captains,
kings, talking about the political leaders of the different nations. It says,
and the flesh of mighty men. Mighty men in the Bible is always a reference to warrior
or soldiers, you know, going into battle. Then it talks about the flesh of horses and
of them that sit on them and the flesh of all men. Now when it says all men, it's not
saying that all mankind, it's there. What it's saying is the flesh of all men, both
free and bond, both small and great. So it's saying all types of men are there.
But I want you to understand because, you know, people will teach that at the Battle
of Armageddon, all mankind gets wiped out right before we go into the millennial reign.
And that's not true. At the Battle of Armageddon, you know, the kings and the captains and the
mighty men and the ones that are going to do battle against the Lord Jesus Christ, those
are the ones that get wiped out. Look at verse 19. And I saw the beast, that's the anti-Christ,
and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the
Jews. Is that what it says? Now that's what they want us to believe, right? They'll say,
oh, the Battle of Armageddon is, you know, going against God's chosen people, the Jews.
But look, the Bible very clearly says that they gathered to make war against Him. Who's
the Him there? The Word of God. The one that's writing in the white horse. That's the Lord
Jesus Christ. They are gathering together to fight the Lord Jesus Christ. In the book
of Daniel, we're told that the kings gathered together to fight the Lamb. The Battle of
Armageddon is the anti-Christ and His army going against the Lord Jesus Christ and His
army. Notice what it says. They gathered themselves together to make war against Him that sat
on the horse and against His army. Well, how does this play out? Look at verse 20. And
the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him,
with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and then that worshipped
his image. These both were cast alive into the lake of fire, burning with brimstone.
Now if you like to take notes, if you like to write maybe in the margins of your Bible,
you ought to write next to that verse that it is the beast and the false prophet, these
are the first two men that are cast into the lake of fire. Up until this point, when unbelievers
die, they go to hell, which is in the center of the earth. One day, death and hell will
be cast into the lake of fire, but these two men are the first to be cast into the lake
of fire, and we'll see that later on in the sermon as well. Look at verse 21. And the
remnant, what's the remnant? Those that are remaining, those that were left over, you
know, from this battle. And the remnant were slain with the sword, so, you know, the beast
and false prophet, they're thrown alive into the lake of fire. The rest of these people
are slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his
mouth and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. Whose flesh? The flesh of the kings
and of the armies and of the captains and of the mighty men and of those that rode upon
horses. So please understand, it's not the whole world being put to death here, it's
just these that go into battle. The remnant that had their flesh eaten by the fowls were
the kings of the earth and their armies, not the entire world. The rest of the world's
population will actually go into the millennial reign. But notice, there's one more part to
this battle. If you look at chapter 20 and verse number 1, Revelation chapter 20 and
verse 1. Revelation chapter number 20 and verse 1. Revelation 21 says this. And I saw
an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, that's referring
to hell. So remember, the beast and the false prophet were cast into the lake of fire, but
the devil is bound, or the angel comes down with the key to the bottomless pit, which
is hell, and a great chain in his hand. Look at verse 2. And he laid hold on the dragon,
that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan. I always like that verse, how he gives
us all his names. He wants to make sure that we know who's being spoken of here, you know.
The dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand
years, and cast him, Satan, into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon
him that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be fulfilled
and after that he must be loosed a little season. So I want you to notice, what are
the events that lead into the millennial reign? Well you have the battle of Armageddon, you
have the antichrist and his armies attempting to fight against the Lord and his armies,
and we see that the beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire. We see that
the devil is bound and cast into the bottomless pit, until the thousand years should be fulfilled.
Notice verse 4, and I saw thrones. I want you to notice the word thrones there is plural.
He says, and I saw thrones, and they, notice the word they is plural, sat upon them, and
judgment was given unto them. So right from the battle of Armageddon we lead into the
millennial reign, and we begin to see that there are those that are given thrones, that
are given authority, that are given judgment. Now because one of the millennial reign's
main characters is the fact that we're going to rule and reign with Christ, we also have
to consider that as we go into the millennial reign, the judgment, the battle was the battle
of Armageddon, but the judgment is going to be what we know as the judgment seat of Christ.
Now you may ask, well how do you know that the judgment seat of Christ happens before
the millennial reign? Well it has to happen because of the fact that the millennial reign's
major characteristic, I mean if there's one characteristic to the millennial reign, it's
the fact that we rule and reign with Christ, it's the fact that there are thrones, and
they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them, and here's what you need to understand.
Keep your place there. Go to Matthew chapter number 19. Matthew chapter 19 should be fairly
easy to find, first book in the New Testament. Matthew 19 verse number 28. See what you need
to understand is that our rewards for serving Christ are actually correlated with our ruling
and reigning with Christ. Our rewards are going to be the fact that we get to rule,
and we get to reign, and we get to judge with Christ. Let me give you an example of that.
Matthew 19 verse 28. Matthew 19, 28 says this, and Jesus said unto them, verily I say
unto you that ye which have followed me in the regeneration, when the son of man shall
sit in the throne of his glory, talking about the millennial reign, ye also shall sit, talking
to his disciples, upon twelve thrones, notice, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. So he's
telling them, hey, because you're serving me, because you followed me, because you're
sacrificing one day at my kingdom, you're going to sit, and he just told the twelve
disciples that they're going to sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
They're going to sit on those thrones, judging. So you've got to understand that the rewards
that we get are correlated to the ruling and reigning with Christ. Go to 2 Corinthians
chapter number 5. If you kept your place there in 1 Corinthians, you should be nearby.
2 Corinthians 5, look at verse 10. 2 Corinthians 5, 10. So because our rewards are correlated
to the ruling and the reigning, the judging with Christ, then it makes sense that the
judgment seat of Christ takes place before the millennial reign. 2 Corinthians chapter
5, look at verse 10. 2 Corinthians 5, 10 says this, for we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ. Now, when he says we must all appear there, he's talking to
the church at Corinth, he's talking to believers. The judgment seat of Christ is a judgment
that is for believers, it's not for unbelievers. The unbelievers will stand before the great
white throne, which is another judgment. But here in 2 Corinthians 5, 10, the Bible says
for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that everyone may receive the
things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Now,
when you see the words good or bad there, please understand, good or bad is not a reference
there to sin or righteousness or holy and unholy. Good or bad is simply the idea of
value. And I don't want to spend a lot of time on this, but if you want to jot this
note down, 1 Corinthians 3, 12 talks about the fact that at the judgment seat of Christ,
our works are seen as gold, silver, precious stone, or wood, hay, and stubble. Either they're
of eternal value or they are not of eternal value. Please understand, because today, we're
at the anti-pre-trib conference, right? We're at the conference that is teaching the right
way, but the pre-tribbers, a lot of them will teach that at the judgment seat of Christ,
this big screen is going to come down, we're going to watch all of your sins, right? And
God's going to be like, what were you doing right there? What were you thinking? But look,
that's not what the Bible says. And here's the thing, if that were true, then there would
be contradictions in scripture because the Bible says that when you got saved, your sins,
you were separated from your sins as far as the east is from the west. Now look, let me
get off the subject of prophecy, but we're not flat earthers, right? If you believe in
a global earth, guess what? The east and the west never meet. So I'm never going to meet.
My sins will not catch up with me and I will not catch up with them. So you know, God's
never going. He says that He's forgotten our sins, that He'll never bring them up to us.
So at the judgment seat of Christ, He's not going to bring up your sins. Look, your sins,
if you're saved, they've been dealt with on the cross when the Lord Jesus Christ paid
for them. The sins have been paid for, but what will we judge for? We will be judged
for what we did on this earth for Christ. Whether we spent our lives on things that
have no value, like the NFL, right? Like watching professional sports. Whether we spent our
lives on things that have no value, or if you spent your lives on things that have eternal
value, getting people saved, helping people grow in the Lord, baptizing them, discipling
them, helping them grow in the Lord. That's the millennial reign. And based on how you
did, you will get to rule and reign with Christ. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 6. You're there
in 2 Corinthians 5. Go to 1 Corinthians 6. Let me just show you some interesting verses.
1 Corinthians 6, in this passage Paul is referring to, and he's teaching about the fact that
brother not not sue each other and take each other to court, but he makes these statements.
1 Corinthians 6 says this,
There any of you having a matter against another go to law before the unjust and not before
the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?
That's referring to the millennial reign. We're going to get to rule and reign with
Christ. We're going to judge. He says,
Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged
by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matter?
Know ye not that we shall judge angels? Isn't that interesting? We're going to judge the
world. We're going to judge angels. How much more things that pertain to this life.
So as we look at these events, what are the events we're looking at? The events that lead
into the millennial reign. What are those? Well, you've got this great battle, the battle
of Armageddon, the Lord Jesus Christ coming down with his saints, with his army to fight
the Antichrist, to fight the armies of the Antichrist. He whoops them. And by the way,
you know, some of you guys, I know you got a lot of guns here, right? I don't want to
hurt your feelings, but you're not going to do much fighting. You know, we're going to
do a whole lot of cheering and we're going to watch the Lord Jesus Christ just take care
of business with the word of his mouth, you know? He's going to whoop them. He's going
to take the beast, the false prophet, throw them into the lake of fire, then the devil
will be cast into the bottom of the spit. Those are the events that lead us into the
millennial reign. Now let's talk about what it will be to live through the millennial
reign. So how is it going to be to live through the millennial reign? The Bible tells us a
lot about this. I'd like you to go to the book of Isaiah. Isaiah probably gives us the
most clear verses about what it will be to live through the millennial reign. Go to Isaiah
chapter number 2. And let me say this. When we enter into the millennial reign, there's
going to be two major changes. One is going to be a change in government. And it's going
to be because the Lord Jesus Christ will establish his kingdom upon this earth and it's going
to be his government. And that government has certain characteristics. One of those
characteristics is the fact that the world, there's going to be worldwide knowledge of
God and of his word. There's going to be worldwide knowledge of God and of his word. Isaiah chapter
2, look at verse number 1. If you find the major prophets there towards the end of the
Old Testament, you've got Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Isaiah. Once you get
to Isaiah, put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there because we're going to leave
it. We're going to come back to it. I want you to be able to get to Isaiah, Revelation,
First Corinthians. Isaiah chapter 2, look at verse 1. The Bible says this. The word
that Isaiah the son of Amal saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem and it shall come to pass
in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house, the mountain there is often
a reference, a kingdom or kingdoms, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established
in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all the nations
shall flow unto it and many people shall go and say, come ye and let us go up to the mountain
of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us his ways and we will
walk in his path for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem. So today, today there's a famine of the word of God, isn't there? I mean today
you go to the average, you know, you go to the average young person, right? You go to
the average just teenager or just, you know, that didn't grow up in church and you ask
them basic questions about Adam and Eve, basic questions about the flood, about Moses and
today a lot of people just don't know. You know, it's getting harder and harder as we
go out and preach the gospel because people just, there's just such a famine for the word
of God and, you know, part of the reason is because so many churches today aren't even
preaching the Bible. I mean so many churches today are just choosing to not preach certain
parts of scripture, to not preach but, you know, the millennial reign is going to be
awesome because of the fact that there's going to be worldwide knowledge. I mean the Bible
says that God Himself and the Lord Jesus Christ will be teaching us and we'll be learning
and it's going to flow out and we'll know His laws and we'll know His judgment and I'm
not going to read it but if you're taking notes I'd like you to write down the reference
Micah chapter 4 verses 1 and 2 is basically a quote, a restating of Isaiah chapter 2 verses
1 and 3 just for your notes there. But go to Isaiah chapter number 11. Isaiah chapter
number 11 and look at verse number 9. Isaiah chapter number 11 and verse 9, the Bible says
this, they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain for the earth shall be full
of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. And if you're taking notes
go ahead and write this reference, Habakkuk 2.14 is basically a restatement of Isaiah
So we see this characteristic, right? The characteristic is that there's worldwide knowledge
of the word of God. Today the millennials, they have no idea about God, right? They don't
know anything about God unless they come to a church like this church, there's a famine
of the word of God but during the millennium there's going to be worldwide knowledge of
God's word, the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. And you know, it is
the word of God that teaches us to live, it is the word of God that the Spirit of the
Lord is the one that gives us liberty, so it's going to be a great time for mankind
because the more knowledge there is of the word of God, the better it is for men, the
better it is for mankind. And that's one of the great characteristics of the millennium.
There's another great characteristic of the millennium, go back to Isaiah chapter 2, look
at verse 4. Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 4 says this, and he shall judge among the nations,
he shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many people. Not only is there going
to be worldwide knowledge of God and his word, you say well what's the purpose of having
worldwide knowledge of God and his word? Why is that important to understand that? The
reason it's important to understand that people are going to know the laws of God,
they're going to know the word of God is because of the fact that there will also be worldwide
implementation of God's righteous laws and judgment. See, if you want to know what the
laws, what are going to be the laws that we follow during the millennial reign, you don't
have to guess, you just read the Bible. You know, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,
those are the laws we're going to be living under because the Lord, because Jesus Christ
himself, he will be the one that will be judging. He will be the one that will be judging and
teaching us the word and then judging us by his word and that's going to be the law of
the land. See, today we live in a very unrighteous government. Today we live in a very, you know,
filthy government. We live in a government that chooses to ignore the laws of God, but
in that day we will live under the laws of God. At our church we just got done, you know,
studying the book of Leviticus. We spent 27 weeks going through the book of Leviticus
and you know, people might think like, ah, well why would you preach through Leviticus?
Why would you spend 27 weeks going through every chapter of the book of Leviticus? Why
would you do that? But hey, we're going to be living under those laws in the millennial
reign. So don't skip that book. You know, read it and understand it and obviously the
parts that have been done away with in the New Testament, you know, the animal sacrifices
and those things, we're not going to be living under that. That's already been done away
with. But the laws that God never repealed, those are the laws that we're going to live
under. Isaiah chapter number 11, look at verse 3. Isaiah 11, 3. Notice what the Bible says.
And shall make him of quick understanding, Isaiah 11, 3. And shall make him of quick
understanding in the fear of the Lord. Now notice what the Bible says here. And he shall
not, talk about Jesus, he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove
after the hearing of his ears. Right, because today judges, they basically are limited to
what they can see and what they can hear. You know, what they can perceive and we've
got a whole lot of lousy and bad judges, but even good judges are just, you know, they're
limited to what they know and they try to get evidence and they try to understand it.
You know, same at church, you know, we rule. And by the way, have you noticed how there's
a correlation between ruling and judging? See, people will say like, you pastor, you're
so judgmental. Well, we're supposed to rule the house of God, which means we're supposed
to judge. But you know, we try to do a good job by seeing, by hearing, by understanding,
by looking at evidence. But you know, when you're being judged by the Lord Jesus Christ,
he's not limited to that. He knows everything. Notice, he shall not judge after the sight
of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears, but with righteousness shall
he judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite
the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
You don't have to go there, but Revelation 2 26 says this, and he that overcometh and
keepeth my works until the end. To him will I give power over the nations, and he shall
rule them with a rod of iron. So look, the millennial reign is going to be a great time.
It's going to be a fun time. We're going to get into some cool things here in a minute,
but please understand this. Jesus is going to be ruling with a rod of iron. He's going
to be ruling with his laws, all the laws that they don't like today, right? Leviticus 2013,
right? You don't want to preach about it. They don't want to hear it. You know, hey,
those are the laws that will be implemented by the Lord Jesus Christ, and he shall rule
them with a rod of iron. As the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers even
as I receive my father. And look, and you might think like, well, you know millennial
reign, I thought it was going to be like fun. It's going to be great. It's going to be,
you know, this, this like vacation, you know, you're talking about ruling with a rod of
iron, but look, wouldn't it be a much better society today if our, if our government would
take these filthy predators, these filthy pedophiles, these sodomites, these, you know,
against, wouldn't it be, I mean, I would tell you our society would be a better society
if they, if they would just rule them with a rod of iron. If they would break them, you
know, if they would break them apart, if they would take care of them. So look, it, you
have to have the laws of God and they're implemented and they, they will be, you know, implemented
and God's going to enforce them because that's what's going to allow the millennial reign
to be this great time when we're living under the laws of God. And we, and look, and by
the way, it'll be the only time that the laws of God were ever properly implemented because
even the Old Testament believers just, you know, refuse to do certain things, you know,
and they choose, they chose to ignore parts of the, of the Bible, but the Lord Jesus Christ
is going to do a great work with that. Revelation 19, you have to turn, say it in Isaiah, but
Revelation 19 and 11 says this, And I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, and
he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge.
So he judges in righteousness and make war. Revelation 19, 15 says, And out of his mouth
goeth a sharp sword, and with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them
with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty
God. So not only is there going to be a fullness of the knowledge of God, not only is there
going to be worldwide implementation of the laws of God, and they will be enforced by
the Lord Jesus Christ himself and his army. I think we'll all be happy to enforce them,
right? Today, today we preach sermons like, if we lived in a righteous government, you
know, this is what God would do, but we don't live in that government, so we don't, you
know, we don't get to do that, but that's how God feels about it. Those are the sermons
today. Then we're going to be like, hey, we're living in that righteous government,
you know, and we'll be able to see those laws implemented and enforced, and as a result,
as a result, there will be worldwide peace on this earth. Isaiah chapter 2, look at verse
4. Isaiah chapter 2 verse 4. Isaiah 2, 4, notice what the Bible says, And he shall judge
among the nations, and shall rebuke many people, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruninghooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither
shall they learn war anymore. Go back to Isaiah 11, look at verse 9. Isaiah 11 and verse 9.
The first part of the verse says this, They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain sea. Today, all these politicians, they want to bring in peace, and they talk
about peace in the Middle East, and they talk about, you know, and they want to bring in
these peace on this earth, but listen, you cannot have peace without the Prince of Peace.
And you say, well, why is it that the Lord Jesus Christ will finally be able to bring
peace upon the earth? And understand this, it's not because everybody in the millennial
reign is a saint, because there's normal people there. There's unbelievers there.
In fact, there will be people who hate the government of God and are deceived and rounded
up into attempting to fight God again. So you're still dealing with sin and with mankind,
yet he brings in peace. Say, how does he do that? He does that because he actually implements
the laws of God. He does it because he actually enforces the law. Look, we can't do it. We'll
never do it. But just hypothetically, if our government chose to say, hey, let's just try
it. Let's just try to follow the laws of God, follow the laws in Leviticus, follow the laws
in the Old Testament, implement them. You know, we'll have a committee where Pastor
Anderson and Pastor Jimenez and all the speakers at the Prophecy Conference, they're going
to sit there and they're going to judge and they're going to make the decisions. That'd
be easy, right? Look, it'll never work. They'll never do it. But here's the point. When you
implement the laws of God, the result is peace on earth. And it's not because everybody's
in their glorified body and nobody can sin, because there's still sinners and there's
still sin. But the laws of God work. And the laws of God are there, and if they were
applied, that's why we need to teach them. That's why we need to understand them. That's
why we need to study them and love them. So we see that there is a change in government.
What does that mean? There's a fullness of the knowledge of God. People understand the
laws of God. There is an implementation of the laws of God. And as a result, there is
peace upon the earth. So there's a change in government. But there's another aspect
to living through the millennial reign, and that is a change in genetics. And you say,
what are you talking about? Well, go to Isaiah chapter number 11, and while you turn there,
I'll read to you the first part of Isaiah 24, 6. Isaiah 24, 6 says this, Therefore have
the curse devoured the earth. See, today we live under the curse of sin. Today, as a result
of sin, we live under the curse of sin. But in the millennial reign, there's going to
be a couple of changes that are made. And there's a change in genetics. The first one
we see is that the animals will become vegetarians. Basically, they're going to go back to the
pre-curse of sin state. Look at Isaiah 11 and verse 6. Notice what the Bible says. Isaiah
11, 6. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with
the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, notice this, and a little
child shall lead them. During the millennial reign, you know, you're going to have little
children playing with wolves and with lions and with leopards. I mean, that would be cool.
And you say, why? Because of the fact that they will no longer be predators. Look at
verse 7. And the cow and the bear shall feed. Their young ones shall lie down together.
And the lion, notice, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. Okay, so there's going
to be a change in the genetics of these animals where they're actually going to become vegetarians.
Unless you think this is a pro-vegetarian sermon or a pro-vegan sermon, some of the
vegans were getting really excited like, oh, here we go. They weren't really licking their
lips because you don't get that excited about tomatoes. But they're like, yeah, man, I really
like where their sermon is going. Hey, please understand this. God does this as a benefit
for mankind. Because every little child wants a leopard. Right? I mean, every little child
wants a lion. He does this as a benefit for mankind. But please understand this. God has
to intervene where He changes the genetics, where He turns some things on or turns some
things off. Because today you got these vegans and they're like, oh, they're trying to tell
us that we're all supposed to just quit eating meat. Right? Look, a lion today is not designed
to live off of a vegetarian diet. And in fact, scientists have already proven the fact that
a lion couldn't even live off of a vegetarian. They don't have the enzymes to be able, if
they ate grass, they wouldn't be able to digest it. It would just go through them. They don't
have the enzymes to be able to do that. And you got some vegans that'll say like, oh,
you could do it. But you know, all of those people have been showed to be, it's just hoax.
It's not true. Look, today, an animal like a lion, like a bear, they're not going to
do these things. But one day, God is going to actually change the genetics of these animals
for the benefit of mankind. Because look, the reason that God created the animals was
for us to enjoy them anyway. That's the whole reason He created them to begin with. That
we might have dominion over them. And look, today, we don't really have dominion over
the lions. I mean, you know, we have them in zoos and stuff like that. But it's not
like this. We don't enjoy them like this in the millennial reign. So there's going to
be a change in the genetics of these animals. Notice verse 18, Isaiah 11, 18. And the suckling
child shall play on the whole of the ass, and the weaned child shall put his hand on
the cockatrice's den. Now let me say this. Today you have people who will teach, they'll
say, oh, I'm an all millennialist. Which means I don't even believe in the millennium, you
know, in a literal millennium. Okay, I don't believe it's actually going to happen. Well,
look, I'm like halfway through the sermon and we've already looked at like tons of verses.
What do you do with all these verses if there's no literal millennial reign? I mean, what
do you do with all these passages if there's no millennial? And then today you also have,
this is my favorite, you know, because we've had to deal with this a little bit at Verity
in Sacramento, is you've got these post-millennialists who think, they think like, well, there's
a millennium, but we have to bring the millennium in. Jesus won't come until we do it. You know,
so we've got to fight the government. We've got to go overthrow the government. We've
got to do it. You know, we'll get it done and then once we've got it all set up, then
Jesus will show up and then he'll do it. Here's what I want to say to those guys is, you know,
go play with a lion. I mean, go play in the hole of the ass. Because the Bible says during
the millennial reign that the weaned child shall put his hand in the cockatrice's den.
So look, it's not just a change in government. There's a genetics change here for the animals.
Obviously the only way this works is because God does it. And it's not like, oh, well these
animals could live off of a vegetarian diet. And, you know, just realize this, we're never
going back to vegetarian. You know, people say like, well Adam and Eve, they ate vegetarian.
No, you know what, the Lord Jesus Christ in his glorified body ate fish. So I'm just planning
on eating meat for all eternity. I mean, you know, I'm never just, we're never, it's not
going to happen. Isaiah 65, look at verse 25. Isaiah 65, verse 25. Isaiah 65, 25. Isaiah
65, 25. Notice what the Bible says. And the wolf and the lamb shall feed together and
the lion shall eat straw like the bullock and the dust shall be the serpent's meat.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountains, saith the Lord. So again,
we just see that the lion's eating straw like a bullock. But look, that's not today. That'll
be once God, because today a lion couldn't survive. He's not designed to be able to live
off of a vegetarian diet. Only if some, you know, psycho vegans capture a lion, feed it,
you know, a vegan diet, and then they have to add all these supplements that come from
animal byproducts, and it still doesn't work. You know, scientists are like, that's a hoax.
You know, you didn't do it. It didn't happen. All right, so please understand the context
is the millennial reign. Not only is there a genetical change in the animals, though,
there's also a genetical change in human beings, the normal human beings that are still alive
during the millennial reign, because they will live much longer. Go to Isaiah, you're
there in Isaiah 65. Let me read for you from Genesis chapter number 6. Genesis 6 and verse
3 says this, And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that
he also is flesh, yet his days shall be in 120 years. All right, so here the Bible tells
us, and the context is this is right before the Noahic flood. It's right before we're
introduced to Noah, and God states that the days of man shall be in 120 years. Now, the
application of Genesis 6, 3 is the fact that God's going to destroy the earth in 120 years.
In 120 years, he's going to bring the flood, he's going to destroy the flesh of men. That's
the application. But God also uses that, and there's like this secondary application, or
a prophetic type of application, because of the fact that God uses the flood as a marker
to change the genetics of man, because before the flood, if you've read your Bible, you
know men are living 700 years, 800 years, 900 years, right? And after the flood, that
changes. Now, because it's a genetic change, it doesn't happen immediately, right? You
don't see a guy living 900 years, and then the next generation, it's 120, right? Because
it's a genetic change, it has to trickle down. It happens slowly. But if you study your Bible,
if you just observe in Scripture, you'll see that before the flood, 700 years, 800 years,
900 years, and then after the flood, you start seeing those numbers go down. Now, they go
down progressively and slowly. You know, you're going down to 600, and 400, and 200, right?
But eventually, you get to that number where today, men don't live past 120 years, because
God made that change. You know, Pastor Anderson was telling me, he did some research, he was
telling me about how the Guinness World Book of Records has the world record for the oldest
man that's ever lived, 122 years. Now, it goes back to the 1800s, so, you know, maybe
it's not as accurate being 122 years, because God said only 120 years, or I don't know,
maybe this guy was just really honoring his parents, you know, that he might live long
upon the earth, I don't know. But, you know, but here's the thing, maybe there's some sort
of a freak exception there, but doesn't the exception prove the rule? That the fact that,
look, it doesn't matter, look, and again, I'm all for healthy eating, we try to eat
healthy, you know, my wife cooks organic food, but look, I hate to break it to you, it doesn't
matter how much organic food you eat, no matter how many times you go to Chipotle, they can
pass all the laws about the environment, they can pass all the laws to clean up the smoke,
you're not going to live past 120 years. You know, this guy lived 122 years, if you believe
that. I think he's probably lying. Or whatever, you know, because God said 120 years, but
there was a change there in the genetics. You know, the animals go back to the pre-curse
of sin state, and then mankind goes back to the pre-flood state, because at the flood,
God told no in 120 years, I'm going to bring a flood, it's going to destroy all mankind,
and then, by the way, that flood will mark the fact that men will no longer live to 900
years, 800 years, but you're going to live to 120 years, which is, that's where we live
today, right? That's where you and I live. And look, you ought to eat healthy, you ought
to do right, the Bible speaks against gluttony and all those things, we understand that,
we ought to try to take care of our temple, but we're not going to live, no one's going
to live 130 years, 140 years, 150 years, it's just not going to happen. But, during the
millennial reign, there'll be a change in genetics, where God will make it so that men
can live long like that. Look at Isaiah 65 and verse 20. Isaiah 65 and verse 20. Isaiah
65, 20. There shall be no more than an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled
his days. Notice what the Bible says, for the child shall die at 100 years old. Now,
what does that mean? Because during the millennial reign, people are still dying. And what the
Bible is telling us here, that during the millennial reign, when somebody dies at the
age of 100 years old, you know what people are going to say? They're going to say, oh,
he was just a child. They're going to say, oh, he died before his time. And even today,
you know, you hear of young men going off to war, 18-year-olds going off to war, 19-year-olds
going off to war and dying, and what do people say? We've got children fighting battles.
That's what the 30-year-olds say, the 40-year-olds say, the 50-year-olds say. So the Bible is
telling us here, during the millennial reign, when a man that's 100 years old dies, they're
going to consider that he died prematurely, that he died as a child, that he died young,
that it was a young death. Notice verse 21, and they shall build houses and inhabit them,
and they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build and another
inhabit. They shall not plant and another eat. Notice what the Bible says, for as the
days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall go along and enjoy the
work of their hands. So here the Bible tells us that men will live as the days of a tree.
And obviously, you know, different trees live for different lengths, but trees live a long
time, you know, hundreds of years. So it's telling us that men are going to live longer.
And look, it's not going to happen just like that, right? It's not like we're going to
go into the millennial reign and you've got people living up to 80 years old, 90 years
old, 100 years old, and then all of a sudden now they're living 900 years. In the same
way that it trickled down, it's probably going to slowly increase, you know, and you're going
to have people living longer and longer, because again, it's a change in genetics. It has to
spread through the gene pool and all of that, so it's going to happen slowly. There's one
more thing I want you to notice in verse 20. Notice how the Bible says, but the sinner,
so we just read, for the child shall die in 100 years old, but the sinner, being in 100
years old, shall be accursed. What is the Bible talking about there? Well, again, there
are unbelievers that come into the millennial reign, people that go from the wrath of God
into the millennial reign, just normal people. They weren't saved, so they didn't get rapture,
they were born after the rapture, and then there's people that are going to be born during
the millennial reign, and the Bible tells us here that a sinner being in 100 years old
shall be accursed. Now you say, well, what does that mean? Well, remember that one of
the characteristics of the millennial reign is the fact that the earth is full with the
knowledge of God, and as a result of there being so much knowledge of God, you know,
to whom much is given, right? Because there's so much knowledge of God, basically the Bible
is saying here that when someone, if they get to be 100 years old and they've not chosen
to be saved, they're just probably not going to get saved. You see what I'm saying? Because,
look, there's going to be people that Satan's going to round up to fight against God, there's
going to be unbelievers, so the verse is saying there, you know, if they don't decide to do
it by 100 years, they're probably not going to do it, and we see that today. You know,
unless you're like in Mexico or the Philippines, you don't really see older people getting
saved, right? You don't see people that are 80 years old getting saved. Now sometimes
you do, but generally you don't, because, you know, by the time they get to that age,
if they haven't got saved, they're probably not going to. You know, if they've heard the
gospel, if they've had access to it, you know, you can go to countries today where people
haven't heard the gospel, and you'll find 80-year-olds that are receptive, but like
in the United States, that's the concept that's being taught there. So we saw, you
know, the events that lead into the millennium, right? You've got the great battle of Armageddon,
and then you have the judgment seat of Christ, where we will be judged for the things that
were done in our bodies, whether they were good or bad, and we will be given the opportunity
to rule and reign with Christ, to judge with Christ. We'll judge men, we'll judge angels,
we'll rule with them. Then we talked about how it will be to live through the millennial
reign, and we talked about the fact that there's going to be the fullness of the knowledge
of God upon the earth. People are going to know about God and about His laws. Not only
that, but the laws will actually be implemented and enforced, and as a result, there will
be worldwide peace. There will not only be peace with mankind, there will be peace in
the animal kingdom. They're going vegetarian, we're not. And, you know, they're going to
get along, and they're going to be pets for children, and all that. And then men will
live longer, so there'll be a change in genetics. Men will live longer. Let's look at the events
that constitute the last part of the millennium. How does the millennium end? Go back to Revelation
chapter number 20. Revelation chapter number 20. And if you remember when I started the
sermon, I talked about the fact that the millennial reign is bookended by two things. You've got
a battle and a judgment at the beginning, and then you've got a battle and a judgment
at the end. Now the battle at the end is the battle that we know as Gog and Magog. And
Revelation chapter 20, and look at chapter 20 and verse 2 just to refresh your minds
a little bit. Revelation chapter 20 and verse 2, the Bible says, they laid hold on the dragon,
the old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him,
Satan, into the bottomless pit, hell, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him that
he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled. And
after that, he must be loosed a little season. And by the way, just understand that it's
probably not going to be like a thousand years to the mark, because he's bound till the thousand
years are fulfilled, and then he's loosed a little season. And you say, well, is that
like a contradiction, is that a problem? That's not a problem, and here's why, and
I won't go into this a lot, because I believe Pastor Andrews is going to talk about it,
but the millennial reign is just the first part of eternity. And you know, we just continue
on into that kingdom, and that's why he's loosed for a little season. Look at verse
7, skip down to verse 7. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out
of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters
of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, the number of whom is
as the sand of the sea. Now, I don't want to get into too much details about Gog and
Magog, because it's a complicated subject, and I just don't have time to go into that.
I will tell you this, Pastor Anderson preached an awesome sermon on the subject of Gog and
Magog, where he actually went back to the passage in Ezekiel 38, and went verse by verse
and explained it. So if that's something you're interested in, I'd encourage you to look up
that sermon and talk and learn about it. All I want you to understand about Gog and Magog
is this, is that in Revelation chapter 20, we're at the end of the millennial reign.
It's already expired, right? Because today you've got the pre-tribbers, and they'll say
that the battle of Gog and Magog happens either right before the rapture, or right after the
rapture, and they're like, Gog is China, and it's China, and it's Russia, Magog is Russia,
or it's Iran, or it's whoever doesn't like the Jews today. That's Gog and Magog, and
it's all this Zionist thing, right? But look, we're already past the millennial reign, okay?
So you can't look into it and try to put in current events, all right? This is at the
end of the millennial reign that's important for you to understand. Let's again look at
the contenders. Who are the contenders? Well, we saw that Satan was loosed out of his prison,
and he went out to deceive the nations. Notice verse 8, 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 look, there's people that still
don't love the laws of God. In fact, enough to number the sand of the sea, who when Satan
shows up and says, hey, let's battle against God, they're willing to do it, and they're
willing to go and fight against God. Look at verse 9, and they went up on the breadth
of the earth and compass the camp of the saints about. Now, sometimes people ask me, you know,
why are the saints all camped about? I thought they were spread around, you know, during
the millennial reign. And here's the thing, they are during the millennial reign. They're
ruling and reigning with Christ, right? But at this point, they're getting ready for battle.
They're kind of circling the wagons, right? They know about the battle because you and
I know about the battle, right? We know at the end of the thousand years like, hey, maybe
we should get back, right? Because there's going to be a great show. So their compass,
you know, the camp of the saints about and the beloved city, and again, we don't do much
fighting, we just do a whole lot of cheering. And fire came down from God out of heaven
and devoured them. Notice verse 9. And they went up, I'm sorry, not verse 9, verse 10.
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. Now remember,
at the beginning of the millennial reign, where was he bound? In the bottomless pit,
right? And he was loosed after the millennial reign ended, after the thousand years were
expired. Now the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
right? The lake of fire. Notice what the Bible says, where the beast and the false prophet,
don't miss this word, are. Now when did the beast and the false prophet get thrown into
the lake of fire? At the beginning of the millennial reign. And at the end of the millennial
reign, the devil gets thrown into the lake of fire and guess who he sees there? The beast
and the false prophet. Because they are present tense. Hey, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Seventh
Day Adventists who want to teach that hell, you know, is annihilation, you burn up and
you don't exist. Hey, they can put this passage, you know, in their pipe and smoke it. Because
the Bible says that they're still there. A thousand years later, why? Because they're
tormented day and night, forever and ever. That's what hell is. That's what the lake
of fire is. And the devil gets thrown in and he meets up with his buddies because they're
still there and shall be tormented day and night, forever and ever. Go to 1 Corinthians
chapter 15. 1 Corinthians 15. We have at the beginning, the battle of Armageddon, the
judgment seat of Christ. We have at the end, the battle of Gog and Magog and then we also
have the great white throne. Now before we get into the passage of the great white throne,
let me just explain a couple things to you. In 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 15 is the
resurrection chapter, right? It's a chapter that teaches us about the resurrection and
all those things. Look at verse 22. 1 Corinthians 15 and 22. For as in Adam all die, even so
in Christ shall all be made alive. Notice verse 23. But every man in his own order.
There's an order to being made alive in Christ. What's the order? Well number one, Christ
the firstfruits. What's that referring to? The resurrection of Christ. When the Lord
Jesus Christ resurrected, he was the firstfruits because of the fact that he was the first
one resurrected in his glorified body. Everyone else that had been resurrected before that,
they were resurrected, you know Lazarus, they were resurrected to die again. They were resurrected
in their corruptible body. The Lord Jesus Christ is resurrected in his glorified body.
He's the firstfruits of the resurrection. Afterward, they that are Christ that is coming.
What's that? The rapture. And notice how, notice that what it's called. It's called
his coming. You got it all mixed up. You don't understand, you know. You're confusing the
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ with the rapture. Well you know who else confused the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ with the rapture? The apostle Paul. Because he said, hey, afterwards
they that are Christ that is coming. So I'd rather stand with Paul than stand with Gipp,
I'd rather stand with the apostle Paul than with a bunch of dispensationalists that don't
know what they're talking about. Notice verse 23, but every man in his own order, Christ
the firstfruits, afterward they that are Christ that is coming, verse 24, then cometh the
end. Then cometh the end. Go to Revelation chapter 20. Keep your place in verse 15. Revelation
chapter 20. Look at verse 5. Revelation chapter 20 and verse 5. Revelation 25, the Bible says
this. Revelation chapter 20 and verse 5. But the rest of the dead lived not again until
the thousand years were finished. What is that referring to? It's talking about the
fact that after the rapture, anyone who got saved and died, it's not like they had their
own little mini rapture right there. All right? Anyone who got saved and died, you know, they
did not get resurrected again until the thousand years were finished. You know, this is the
first resurrection. It's talking about to the fact that people were resurrected, but
the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. Notice verse
6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. On such the second
death hath not power, but they shall be priests of God and Christ and shall reign with him
a thousand years. So here's what I just did. You've got the resurrection of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's called the firstfruits. Then you've got they that are Christ that is coming.
That's called the first resurrection. And then after the thousand years are expired,
that's the second resurrection of people who believed on Christ, who got saved, you know,
during the millennial reign. They get resurrected at this point. Go to the book of Daniel just
real quickly. Daniel chapter number 12. If you're in Isaiah, you've got Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel. Daniel chapter number 12. And look at verse 2. Daniel chapter
12 and verse 2. Daniel chapter 12 and verse 2. Daniel 12, 2 says this. And many of them
that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. All right? That's talking about a resurrection.
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. Notice, some to everlasting
life. I believe this is talking about those who died during the millennial reign. And
you say, well, why do you think that? Notice the end of the verse. And some to shame and
everlasting contempt. So at the great white throne, basically, you know, we've already
had the rapture. We had the firstfruits of the resurrection of Christ. We had the rapture.
We had the entire millennial reign. We had people living throughout the millennial reign.
They died either as believers or unbelievers. At the great white throne, everyone gets resurrected.
Everyone comes back. Some that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting
life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Go to Revelation chapter 20. So we have the
resurrection of those that were saved during the millennium. We also have the raising up
or the resurrection of the unsaved. They're coming back to be judged at the great white
throne. Revelation chapter 20 and verse number 11. Revelation 20 and 11 says this, And I
saw a great white throne and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens
fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, and I saw the dead,
small and great, stand before God. And the books were opened, and another book was opened,
which is the book of life. Now he says the books were opened, and another book was opened,
which is the book of life. Now what's the book of life? It's the book that holds the
names of everyone who's saved, right? Whose names have not been blotted out. What are
these other books? I believe this is a reference to the canon of scripture. You know, the word
of God. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus. The books were opened,
and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out
of those things which were written in the books. Notice this phrase, according to their
works. And people say, like, well, I thought salvation was by grace through faith. Why
are they being judged by their works? But please understand this. He's talking to people
that went to hell. These people did not get saved. And listen to me. The Catholic who
says, no, I think, you know, I got to get baptized, and I got to take the sacraments,
and I got to live a good life. You know, the Pentecostals says, no, I got to repent of
my sins, and I got to quit drinking, and I got to quit drinking. You know, all these
religions that teach that add works to salvation, even when they say it's a gift, but then they
tell you you can lose it based on the things you do, you know what that is? It's works.
When you got to live right to keep it, that's works. When you got to quit sinning to get
it, that's works. And here's what God says. He says, hey, you want me to judge you by
your works? I'll judge you by your works. You want to get judged by your works? I'd
be happy to do it. And he's going to open up the Word of God, and he's going to say,
ah, you didn't make it. It turns out it says, for all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God. It turns out you weren't good enough. So he judges them by their works.
Notice what the Bible says. They were judged according to their works. Go back to 1 Corinthians
15. 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15. And of course, the famous verses continue, and
death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever
was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. 1 Corinthians
15 and verse 25 says this. 1 Corinthians 15, 25 says this. For he must reign till he
hath put all enemies under his feet, and the last enemy that shall be destroyed, you and
I would think it would say is the devil. But that's not what it says. It says is death.
And the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. And that's why the great white throne
ends with Revelation 24 and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the
second death. And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into
the lake of fire. And really this is when he gets rid of sin. Because the wages of sin
is death. The result of sin is death. So he gets rid of sin. He gets rid of death. He's
already judged all the unbelievers. We see the end of sin and death itself. Now just
real quickly, go to Daniel chapter number 7. I think I'm running out of time, but let
me just cover a few of these things real quickly and we'll finish up. So we saw the events
that lead into the millennial reign. We saw what it will be like to live through the millennial
reign. And then we saw the last part of the millennial reign. Let me just say this as
we end tonight. There's a couple of things I want you to understand about the millennial
reign. First of all, I want you to understand who's the acting king of the millennial reign
and beyond. Who is it that is king on earth during the millennial reign? Daniel chapter
7 in verse 13 says this, And I saw in the night vision, and behold, one like the Son
of Man, who's that? The Lord Jesus Christ, right? Came with the clouds of heaven and
came to the Ancient of Days, that's God the Father, and they brought Him near before Him,
and there was given Him, given Jesus, dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people, nations
and languages should serve Him. Alright, so who is the king during the millennial reign?
It's the Lord Jesus Christ. But I want you to notice what it says about His thousand
year millennium, His thousand year kingdom, His millennial kingdom. Verse 14, notice what
it says. Notice the last part of verse 14. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which
shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. So notice, it's
not a kingdom for a thousand years. A thousand years is just the beginning. And He's the
Lord Jesus Christ is King for a thousand years. What happens after the thousand years?
Go to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 24. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 24. 1 Corinthians
15, 24 says this, Then cometh the end, right? When He, Jesus, shall have delivered up the
kingdom to God, even the Father. So I want you to notice that the kingdom doesn't end.
It's an everlasting kingdom, but He delivers the kingdom to the Father. He gives the kingdom
to the Father. And then after the millennial reign, God Himself shall rule as King. Then
cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when
He shall put down all rule and all authority and power. Now just real quickly, keep your
place in 1 Corinthians 15. Go back to Isaiah 65, and let me just end with this, okay? What's
the point of the millennial reign? I mean, have you ever thought about that? Like, what's
the point of the millennial reign? What's the purpose of millennial reign? Well, I would
submit to you that there's a few reasons for the millennial reign, and probably more than
I can think of. But one of the reasons for the millennial reign is that prophecy has
to be fulfilled, right? Because the Lord Jesus Christ has to reign. He has to be King. So
it's a fulfillment of the fact that He is King, and He actually reigns. And we know
He reigns in heaven, and we get that, but He reigns upon this earth, right? And there's
a fulfillment there. But I believe another reason for the millennial reign is because
God, you know, just at the end, before He gets rid of all sinners and gets rid of all
sin, He just wants Jesus to come down and just show us how it was supposed to be done.
Because don't you think, like, if we didn't have the millennial reign, wouldn't we just
for all of eternity wonder? Like, we would think, like, well, yeah, I mean, it works
now because we're all in our glorified bodies, but I wonder if it would ever work. So, see,
Jesus Himself comes down to show us, no, the law of the Lord is perfect. You're the problem.
It would have worked if you would have done it. But it didn't work because of you. It
didn't work because of sin. It didn't work because you didn't do it the way you're supposed
to. So Jesus comes down with sinners, implements us, and shows us that it can be done. So He
shows us that, again, it fulfills the fact that He's King. But you know what? It also
gives us a time to enjoy this world. Because here's the thing, you and I, we're in a spiritual
battle, aren't we? For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wakenness in high places. And you know, when you're in battle, when you're in battle, you
don't get to really enjoy your surroundings. You know, on D-Day, I don't think those young
guys that were storming the beaches of Normandy were like, man, I always wanted to go to France.
I always wanted to check out France. You know why? Because they were in battle. Because
they were fighting. But you know, when the battle's over, I bet a bunch of those guys
went back to France and checked it out. And you know, in this world, you know, sometimes
we can get discouraged and we think, man, I just give my life to church Sunday morning,
Sunday night, Wednesday night. We got salt winning on Saturday, or salt winning on Sunday,
and I got to give 10% of my money to the church. And I got to, you know, my vacations consist
of the Prophecy Conference, and the Red Hot Preaching Conference, you know, and my neighbors
going on cruises, and they're buying new cars, and they're enjoying the world. And you know,
they don't want to get saved. But look, the millennial reign is a time when you and I,
we get to enjoy this world. You know, my wife and I, we're not going to be married, right,
because after the resurrection, there's no marriage. But you know, I'm hoping she'll
like, go tour the world with me. Just as friends. But you know, we're going to go tour the world.
Look at all the places I never took her to, you know, the Bahamas, you know, whatever,
I don't know. We're going to enjoy. Are you there in Isaiah 65? Look at verse 21. Isaiah
65, 21. Maybe I can sneak in a kiss, I don't know. Isaiah 65, 21. And they shall build
houses and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and eat fruit of them. They shall
not build and another inhabit. That's the world we live in today. They shall not plant
and another eat, for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect
shall long enjoy the work of their hands. Now don't miss that. The work you do today,
the work you do right now, the work you do for God, you'll get to enjoy that then. Or
you can just enjoy this life now, you know, where everything gets moth-eaten and corrupt.
You know, what's the point of the millennial reign? It's the fact that we get to enjoy
it, and you know, it should motivate us. 1 Corinthians 15 talks a lot about the resurrection,
talks a lot about the resurrection having to do with the millennial reign, the end,
and all those things. Notice how the chapter ends, 1 Corinthians 15, 58. Notice how the
chapter ends, and it ends in the same way that I'd like to end this sermon. Because
of the millennial reign, because of the fact that Jesus Christ is victorious at the Battle
of Armageddon, because of the fact that we'll be judged on this earth for the things we
did, the way we lived our life, because of the fact that the millennial reign is one
day coming, literally, for real. We don't have to bring it in, Jesus will bring it in.
And it's actually going to happen, those things, those verses are not just poetry, there are
going to be lions that eat like a bullock. Men will live long, it's going to be a great
time, there will be peace on earth. Because of that, because of the fact that one day
sin and death will be judged, along with unbelievers at the great white throne. Because of the
fact that God will be victorious at the Battle of Gog and Magog, because of all of that.
The Bible says this, therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in
vain in the Lord. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank
you Lord for your word, thank you for the Bible, and Lord thank you for the hope that
it gives us. We don't live without hope, we have hope not only of the resurrection, but
we have hope for the millennial reign, that one day the work and the labor that's done
in this life, the suffering and the trials and the persecutions we go through, one day
we will be rewarded for those, and we'll get to rule and reign and judge with the Lord
Jesus Christ. Lord help us not to just learn about these things just because they're interesting,
just to learn about them, just to have knowledge, but Father I pray you would help us to allow
them to motivate us to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.
In the name of Christ we pray, amen.