A New Thing Series

Revelation 20:6-21:5 “A New Thing” September 19, 2021

1. The Blessed (v.6) “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection”

Verse 4 says… “Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and who 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 for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.” Blessed are the ones who share in the First Resurrection! The second death has no power over us! v.7 After being bound in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years, Satan is turned loose. Why? There must be a reason because verse 3 says “he must be loosed”. First, this event proves that the devil is unrepentant. Even after God has proven to the devil countless times that He is stronger, Satan still continues in his stubborn rebellion against God. Second, this event will prove the total inability of man to save himself, even in a perfect world. It proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that lost man is totally depraved. There is no good in him, and left to himself, he will always go away from God, Romans 3:23. v.8 What is the 1st thing that Satan does when he is set free? Satan gathers an Army – Where will the devil find this army? The world is perfect! There is no poverty, no disease, and no war. Why would anyone fall for the devil’s lies and rebel against God? Remember, when the Church is raptured away and then returns with Him to reign on earth and millions of people enter the Millennium in flesh and blood bodies. Some were believing Jews and others were Tribulation saints who did not submit to the mark of the beast. These people married and had children. The children born during the Millennium will be raised in a perfect environment and still they will rebel against God. Every one of them would still need to be saved from their sins by faith in the finished work of Christ at Calvary. In a world where they will travel to Jerusalem and see King Jesus in Person, they will still refuse to bow to Him in faith and repentance. In a world inhabited by the characters from the Bible; the glorified saints of God and by those who endured the Tribulation Period, many millions will not be saved. They are still rebels in need of a Redeemer. They are still sinners in need of a Savior! This is Satan’s Army, and he leads them in one final assault against King Jesus in Jerusalem. We don’t even lift a sword against them! God Himself ends the battle by raining fire down from Heaven. They are destroyed in an instant and they all are cast into Hell to await judgment. But, Satan, the Antichrist and the False Prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire, where they will spend all eternity being tormented.

2. The Books (v.12) “Then books were opened. Then another book was opened”

We now are at the Judgement before a Great White Throne. Here we are told that those appearing before the throne are the "dead". This tells us, without question, that there will not be a single born-again believer in the group. Why? The Bible tells us that we who have trusted Jesus as our Saviour have "passed from death unto life", John 5:24. We have been given eternal, abundant life through the blood of the Lamb and can never lose that or be dead in eternity because Jesus said that His Father in Heaven is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. BUT every person who died without Jesus Christ will face Him in this Judgment one day! There will be no escape and there will be no exceptions. Notice verse 13. It reminds us that all who died, regardless of where they died will appear. Even those who are in Hell will be brought out for this judgment. Every lost sinner from Cain to the last one will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ! The Bible tells us that the "books" will be opened. I don't know all the books that will be used that day, but I am sure of a few that will be opened. There is a Book with a listing of all our Works - In Heaven, there is record being kept of the deeds of all men. One day, every lost man will stand before the Lord and here the record of his life read from the throne. Every deed, both good and evil will be mentioned. Every sin will be read aloud! Sins of commission, sins of omission, flagrant sins, secret sins, sins of the heart and sins of the mind. All will be brought out into the open on that day. Verse 12 makes it clear that the lost will be judged according to their works. Only faith in Christ wipes our record clean. It replaces the record of our sins with the record of His righteousness. The only book that is named is The Lamb's Book Of Life - This book contains the names of those who are redeemed by the blood of Jesus. When a sinner repents, their name is written in this book. This is the reason Jesus told His disciples to rejoice, Luke 10:20. This book records who has and who has not accepted Jesus as their Savior. The last phrase in verse 13 tells it all. “they were judged, each one according to what they had done.” When these books are opened, judgment is rendered based on the evidence found in the books. You can be sure that the evidence is accurate, and that the record is complete.