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, you know.
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 Scripture 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,
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 and make war. His eyes were a flame
of fire, and on his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that no man knew
but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called
the Word of God. 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,
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean.
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, Behold, the Lord
cometh with ten thousand of his saints. 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,
And I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all
the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the
supper of the great God, that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains,
and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and
the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
Now 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, 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 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 is 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 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, 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 antichrist, 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 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 riding in the white oars. 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 antichrist 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 worshiped
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 will see that later on in the sermon as well. Look at verse 21. And
the remnant, what is the remnant? Those that are remaining, those that were left over from
this battle and the remnant were slain with the sword. So the beast and false prophet
are 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 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. 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, 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 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 and 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 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 be judged 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, like watching professional sports, whether we spent our
life on things that have no value or if you spent your life 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've 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. 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
two 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 two, look at verse
number one. If you find the major prophets there towards the end of the Old Testament,
you 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
two, look at verse one. 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 young person
right? You go to the average teenager 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 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
11.9. 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 you know 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 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 studying the book
of Leviticus. We spent 27 weeks going through the book of Leviticus and people might think
like 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. Notice what the
Bible says. And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord. Notice what the Bible
says here. And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the
hearing of his ears. 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 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 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 20 13. 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
and 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, again saying, 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, refused 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 to 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, this is what God would do, but we don't live in that government so 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 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 two, look at verse four. Isaiah chapter two verse
four. Isaiah two four, 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 pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall
they learn war anymore. Go back to Isaiah 11, look at verse nine. Isaiah 11 and verse
nine. 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
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, right, and all the speakers at the Prophecy Conference, they're
going to sit there and they're going to teach, you know, they're going to judge, right, and
they're going to make the decisions, that'd be easy, right? And we're going to try, 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, hath 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. But, you know, unless you think
this is a pro-vegetarian sermon or a pro-vegan sermon, you know, some of the vegans were
like getting really excited like, oh, here we go. You know, they weren't really licking
their lips because you don't get that excited about, you know, 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 it as a benefit for mankind, but please
understand this. You know, God has to intervene where he changes the genetics, you know, where
he turns some things on or turns some things off. Because today, you know, you got these
vegans and they're like, oh, you know, 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 will say like, oh, you could
do it. But, you know, all of those people have been showed to be, it's just a 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
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. So 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 reign? 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
got to fight the government. We got to go overthrow the government. We got to do it.
You know, we'll get it done and then once we 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. 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.
Especially 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 race.
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 Chipotle, no matter, you know, 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, so God,
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 and 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,
right? 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. For as, 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 people, 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 or 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, unto 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, you know, 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 heard, 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
for pets, for children, all that. And then men will live longer, so there will 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 to little season. And by the way, just understand that it's probably
not going to be like a thousand years to the mark because, you know, 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, you know, 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 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 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 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?
It's a thought. 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. And 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,
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 is annihilation, you burn up and you don't exist. Hey, they can put this passage
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 5, 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, 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 bodies. 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. They'll tell us like, 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 Gib, right? 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 cries 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 said.
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. 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 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,
Acts, 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 Pentecostal
who says, no, I got to repent of my sins, and I got to quit drinking, and I got to quit
working. 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 that
sin to 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 is 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 the revelation of 2014, and
death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever
is 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. 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. We say, well, 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, 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
it can. 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 wickedness 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 neighbor's 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. 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. First Corinthians 15 talks a lot about the resurrection. It talks a lot about the
resurrection having to do with the millennial reign, the end and all those things. Notice
how the chapter ends. First Corinthians 15, 58. Notice how the chapter ends. 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 work. 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 and 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.