To all members of PaRD.
Grace and peace to you from CPK001. Tonight is the ninth of the ten series of the book of Revelation that we are studying at Church. I have been taking notes and I am going to try and portray what I heard at Church onto here.
Here is a link to the previous topic
http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=71719017&f=119Last weeks question was how good are you at replying to RSVPs? This weeks question is: How would you feel if your ENTIRE life was exposed publicly for everyone to see?
Revelation 20 NIV
The Thousand Years
20 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
The Judgment of Satan
7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The Judgment of the Dead
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
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So we start off with the opening question: How would you feel if every thought, every mutter, every action, your entire life was exposed? Would you be scared if everybody knew what went down behind closed doors and deep down in the darkest part in your heart?
What if there is a book that depicts your entire life? Perhaps you keep a journal or a personal diary of your thoughts of the day. (Unlikely) Would you be comfortable if that book fell into the public's view?
We call this the book of life. Our book of life. This book of our life will one day be opened up before God himself. There will be nothing to hide, no secrets kept. It will all be exposed out in the open. Sounds scary if you think about it.
Revelation 20 starts off with an angel coming down out of heaven and holding a great chain. he seized the dragon and bound him for a thousand years. There have been many great debates over the thousand years. Is it literal? If it figurative?
Jesus has given us this answer. This guy, Jesus, has been healing the un-heal-able, he has been loving the unlovable, touching the untouchable (No dirty joke intended). In Mark 3 Jesus is accused by his family and by the Teachers of the Law.
So Jesus sets them straight and he also gives a reason as to why he is here.
Mark 3: 23-27 NIV
23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “
How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25
If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And
if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact,
no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s houseWe all agree that you can't enter a strong man's house and plunder it without first tying him up. Do you see the connection? The Angel has seized the devil and bound him. So now Jesus can enter Satan's house and plunder it.
Jesus has come to bind up Satan. The strong man must be referring to Satan. So what has Jesus come to plunder? What does the devil try to take away from God that he holds most dearest to him? Us! We belong to God and Jesus has come to take us back to where we belong.
So the next question would be when is Satan tied up? Is he tied up at the end times for a thousand years? The next clue is given in John.
John 12: 23, 31-33 NIV
23 Jesus replied, “
The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
31
Now is the time for judgment on this world
; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I,
when I am lifted up from the earth,
will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
The time has come! When is Satan tied up? Satan is tied up at the Cross! This is the moment the thousand years began. So if the thousand years isn't literal then what does a thousand years really mean?
Thousand years is a symbol for a long time. The book in the series we were given has has a big picture and it says what all the numbers and symbols mean. I'll name only a few:
1/3 - many but not a majority
7 completeness fullness
4 all the corners of the earth
6 a pretender to 7
12 Israel: God's people (12 tribes of Israel)
42 a time period that will come to an end
10 round number
1000 lots of something
144,000 everyone who will be saved by God
White horse: victory in battle
fire lightning thunder earthquakes hail: powerful judgement
These are only a few. So if the thousand years began at the Cross, that means we're in the midst of it right now.
In Revelation 20:7-8 it depicts a massive battle up ahead. Gog and Magog gather up and their numbers are like the sand of the seashore. they march across and surround the camp of God's people.
This does look bad does it? What happens next? 9b - But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. It is all over in an instant. One round KO.
We've seen about 6 cycles heading towards judgement. When judgement finally came, it was over in a flash. What we must realize is that God will win, God always win because he has already won. He won at the Cross.
We also have the privilege to get a sneak peak into judgement day.
20:11-12:
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.
We can guess who is sitting on the great white throne. The books were opened. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
The books of every single person's entire life were opened up to God.
13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.
Nobody is going to be left out, every single person will be judged.
Yet there was another book that was opened up. This was called the book of life.
15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
So it is now clear what we must have happen now. It is imperative that above all else, we have to have our name in the book of life. Nothing else matters in the end.
So how do we have our name written in the book of life? The answer is through the death of Jesus. You must trust in Jesus and in the first judgement day.
You can ask Jesus to write your name in the book of life and he will write your name in with his blood.
In the meantime as is written in verse 6 blessed are those who share in the first resurrection. They will be priests of God and Christ and reign with him! What an exciting offer!
6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
Revelation 3:21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.
So if you persevere your whole life, you will share in his rule and victory! Not only that but you will also help plunder Satan's household!
How do we help plunder Satan's household? Jesus tells us that as well.
Acts 1:7-8 7 He said to them: “It is
not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will
be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
We as people have the honor of testifying to Jesus the Cross of Christ. Even though come that day our books will be opened up the Bible teaches us that we have nothing to fear. Our name will be written in the book of life.