The Final Events Rev 20
Introduction
Have you ever gone to one of those movies that ends without really bringing things to a conclusion? That usually happens in a movie where there is a planned sequel or series. The 2nd Hunger Games movie was like that. Some of the Star Wars movies were like that. When that happens it always leaves me a little frustrated. Why? Because it ended without finishing the story. It basically left you hanging – which it was intended to do so that you will go see the second or third or however many movies they want you to go to.
I got to thinking about that in relation to Revelation and the way we live our lives. We have read the end of the book and we know how it turns out, but in the meantime there is a sense of longing or even frustration that we haven’t experienced it all. This is captured in the closing words of Revelation when Jesus says, "Yes, I am coming soon." And then John adds: “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” It is a prayer. It seems as if he is saying, “Hurry up, come quickly.”
Why would he say that? If you live long enough, you discover that this world is overrated.
· It is rigged for disappointment.
· It gives us stones for bread.
· When we get what we want, it’s never enough.
Satisfaction never lasts, and even our joys are tinged with sadness.
· In Ecclesiastes, King Solomon – the man who literally had it all – “Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless. Nothing was gained. It is all a chasing after the wind.”
· Solomon knew better than anyone: The Happy wears off.
So the question is, “What will satisfy the hunger?”
C.S. Lewis once wrote: “Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water . . . If I find myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world . . . Earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing.”
This world isn’t meant to satisfy that hunger. It is meant to whet our appetite.
· The dissatisfaction that we feel with this world “is not so much a design flaw as a designed flaw.”
· God has wired discontentment into the system so that we would not mistake this world for our home – so that we would not lose our hunger for something deeper and stronger and truer.
· Solomon himself said it in Ecclesiastes: “God has set eternity in the hearts of men” (Ecc 3:11). What we hunger for is heaven.
We started this sermon series back in June and looked at the 7 churches that John was writing to.
· They needed to be reminded of the end of the story.
· They needed to be reminded that the things of this world are temporary – whether it be persecution and suffering or the false idols that the world had to offer.
· They needed to have their expectations rekindled.
· We need to be reminded of those things also.
Joni Eareckson Tada, a well known Christian woman, has been in a wheel chair for the last 56 years of her life. When she was 17 she dove into shallow water and became a quadriplegic. But that didn’t stop her. She became a singer, author, artist, and speaker - all the while confined to the wheelchair. She says, “The art of living with suffering is the art of readjusting your expectations in the here and now. We ask less of this life because we know full well that more is coming in the next.”
Revelation keeps reminding us: if we we’ll just stay faithful in the middle of the story, we’ll be victorious in the end – we win.
So, let’s look at the end and get a picture of what God has in store for us. The last three chapters of Revelation can be summed up like this:
· Final Judgement is given – Ch 20
· Heaven is Opened –Ch 21
· Salvation is Found – Ch 22
· Today we are going to look at chapter 20 – Judgement is given.
1. Final Judgement is Given to Satan
a. I want to read to you the passage of scripture that has probably received more attention over the course of history than any other passage in the Bible when it comes to the second coming of Jesus.
b. Rev 20:1-10 1 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 for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his 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 have part 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. 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 — 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.
c. This is the final passage in the book of Revelation that gives a picture of the defeat of Satan. This is the final word on what happens to him.
d. This passage has received so much attention because of the concept of the 1000 years that is mentioned, called the “Millennium”.
i. Big picture – it has been interpreted several different ways. The two most popular today are the Pre-millennial View and the Amillennial View.
ii. I don’t have the time to go into a detailed breakdown of these views but I do want to give a simplified overview.
e. The “Pre-millennial” view interprets the 1000 years as a literal 1000 years on earth.
i. Christ returns before this 1000 years begins, the Christians are taken out of the world to reign with Christ. This is commonly referred to as the “rapture”.
ii. After that Christ establishes an earthly reign on the earth and reigns over an earthly kingdom for 1000 years.
iii. At the end of the 1000 years Satan is released, wreaking havoc in the world, and He is ultimately defeated and cast out by Jesus.
iv. Then final judgement comes and eternity in heaven begins for all followers of Jesus.
f. The “Amillennial” view interprets the 1000 years as symbolic of the time period that the church is established on earth, after the resurrection of Jesus and that Christ reigns as head of the church.
i. Satan is bound and limited but not powerless to bring about evil.
ii. There will be a period before the return of Christ when things will be very tough for Christians.
iii. The end will come when Christ returns to earth, Satan is ultimately defeated and the final judgement comes and the new heaven and eternity in heaven begins for all followers of Jesus.
g. Where am I personally? I lean more towards the second view somewhat because of my education in graduate school. Also, I see it more consistent with what Jesus had to say about His Kingdom and His return. Here are just a few of the passages I lean on:
i. John 18:36 36 Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
ii. John 6:14-15 14 After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
iii. Matt 25:31-33 31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. . . . 46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
h. Along with all of this, the symbolic language throughout Revelation seems to consistently point to big picture concepts, rather than detailed, relevant only to our generation, interpretations.
i. Having said all of that, I can certainly see and understand the pre-millennial view. It seems a little clearer and is more easily understood at face value.
j. Bottom line, it is not a test of faith or salvation. The message is the same in either interpretation – If you live faithfully for Jesus all the days of your life, He will take care of the details of how and when you will enter heaven.
k. Either way, Satan is Put Out of Commission Forever
i. Rev 20:10 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.
ii. How long is for ever and ever? Well, its forever.
iii. Does it sound like he will make another run at it? No, once and for all he will be defeated.
Transition – After seeing the final downfall of Satan, John’s attention is drawn to another scene. It is the scene of the final judgement of man.
2. Final Judgment is Given to Mankind:
a. 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky 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. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
b. I don’t know about you, but the question that comes to my mind with that last verse is this – what do I do to make sure my name is in that book? What is interesting is that question is not answered here. It comes later.
c. But what it does in invokes in us the desire to be in heaven.
i. There was a minister preaching on Revelation and during his sermon he exclaimed, “If you want to go to heaven, stand up!” The entire congregation stood – except one little boy in the front row. The preacher was perplexed. Looking over the pulpit, he said, “Son, do you mean to tell me that when you die, you don’t want to go to heaven?” “Oh, when I die, yes,” said the boy. “I thought you were getting a group together to go right now!”
ii. A lot of us are probably with the little boy.
d. Let me just share some thoughts and scriptures about judgement.
e. Judgement should cause us to live with a sense of accountability
i. Verse 12 should make us sit up and take notice: 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.
ii. Accountability is a good thing. It causes us to re-evaluate our actions and hopefully make the right decision.
iii. The key is this – Do you see God as your accountability partner? If not, you can rationalize anything you do.
iv. I would suggest that you see God as your accountability partner. Why? Because in the end, He is the only one that will hold you accountable.
f. Judgement doesn’t have to be something you are fearful of.
i. Jesus is our mediator
1. The purpose of a mediator is to bring two parties to an agreement.
2. When we stand before God it will do us no good to try and plea our own case. We need a mediator.
3. 1 Tim 2:5 - For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
4. Heb 9:15 - Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance,
ii. Jesus died take away your sins
1. 1 Peter 2:24 - He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
2. For several thousand years in the Old Testament all the people could do was have there sins forgiven through continual sacrifices. Over and over again they would have to offer sacrifices.
3. When Jesus came and died on the cross all of that changed. He was the final sacrifice for the sins of mankind.
4. We would like to think that we could take care of things ourselves but we cannot – only God can forgive sins.
iii. Jesus wants you to be with Him in heaven for eternity
1. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Conclusion
Some of you may have come today wondering if I would address what is happening in Israel right now and how it relates to the end times and the book of Revelation. The nation of Israel has always been at the center of God’s plan throughout the Bible. There are more than one prophecies concerning it and God’s plan. There are 4 references in Revelation to “the great city” which I believe refers to Jerusalem. In the last two chapters of Revelation we will see the term “new Jerusalem” referred to several times.
So, can what goes on in Israel at any time be totally separated from the discussion of the “end times”. Is what is happening now the final sign of the end, I don’t know and neither does anyone else. But what it does is reinforce the teaching Jesus and Revelation that: 1) We must always be ready for His coming. He emphasized that over and over again. 2) As the world progresses and God’ ultimate plan unfolds, Revelation clearly teaches that things will get tougher and more chaotic for followers of God in the world.
Matt 24:4-7 4 Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
Matt 24:42-44
42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
The Final Events Handout Rev 20
Have you ever gone to one of those movies that ends without really bringing things to a conclusion?
Satisfaction never lasts, and even our joys are tinged with sadness.
So the question is, “What will satisfy the hunger?”
The last three chapters of Revelation can be summed up like this:
· Final Judgement is given – Ch 20
· Heaven is Opened –Ch 21
· Salvation is Found – Ch 22
1. Final __________________ is Given to _______________
a. Read Revelation 20:1-10
b. This is the final passage in the book of Revelation that gives a picture of the defeat of Satan.
c. The “Pre-millennial” view interprets the 1000 years as a literal 1000 years on earth.
d. The “Amillennial” view interprets the 1000 years as symbolic of the time period that the church is established on earth, after the resurrection of Jesus and that Christ reigns as head of the church.
i. John 18:36
ii. John 6:14-15
iii. Matt 25:31-33
e. Either way, Satan is Put Out of Commission Forever
2. Final __________________ is Given to _______________.
a. Read Revelation 20:11-15
b. What do I do to make sure my name is in that book?
Thoughts and scriptures about judgement.
c. Judgement should cause us to live with a sense of __________________
Revelation 20:12
d. Judgement doesn’t have to be something you are fearful of.
i. Jesus is our ____________________
1 Tim 2:5 - For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
Heb 9:15 - Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance,
ii. Jesus _____________ to take away your ____________
1 Peter 2:24 - He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
iii. Jesus ______________ you to be with Him in heaven for ____________________
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.