Kingdom Finale and the Great White Throne
Intro
1. Everyday life can bring us some unusual problems:
Woman, 91, Teaches Purse Snatcher a Lesson
Tue Jun 7
TOLEDO, Ohio - She’s 91 and uses a hearing aid and eyeglasses, but Katherine Woodworth wasn’t about to let somebody steal her purse.
Woodworth clobbered the would-be thief with her bag until he ran away, police said.
"I didn’t have my hearing aid in, and I thought he said that he was going to take my pulse," Woodworth said. "Then he said it again, that he was going to take my purse, and I said, ’No, you’re not.’"
She fought off the man in a department store parking lot Saturday afternoon, authorities said.
Police arrested a 20-year-old suspect and charged him with robbery, felony theft, assault, aggravated menacing, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Sgt. Tim Hanus said women of Woodworth’s age shouldn’t try to fight attackers. Woodworth said she didn’t think her age was much of a factor.
"I’ll be 92 in August and I guess I’ve got more nerve now than when I was younger," she said.
2. We like to be in control of our own lives and destinies. But our control is limited.
3. When we talk about trusting God, we are acknowledging that our control is limited. and we are acknowledging that His judgments are better than ours. But many people have a high-fisted attitude toward God; sometimes it is apparent; more often, it is concealed.
4. But it time, the truth comes out. Such will be the case when Jesus returns to earth to set up the 1,000 year kingdom we know as the Millennium.
5. Matthew 25:31-46 describes an event at the beginning of the Millennium (just after Aramageddon), when the “sheep” are separated from the “goats.” The sheep are they who have been kind to the Jews and gentile believers during the Tribulation, and, if we combine this with Revelation, those who would not take the mark of the Beast. In other words, those who came to believe in Jesus.
6. The Millennium eventually transitions into the eternal state, so to inherit the Kingdom is to inherit eternal life.
7. These people will have children during the Millennium; they will be like us: sinners at birth. No doubt many will accept Christ, while others will acknowledge Him (they will see Him reigning on Mount Zion) but will harbor resentment toward them in their hearts because they are not born again. We must realize that only the regenerate can believe in Jesus in a SAVING WAY. Millions of lost people claim to believe in Jesus, but unless the Spirit of God overcomes the hostility the natural man has toward the true God, they are not saved. It is through the new birth, or regeneration, that we see the kingdom of God (John 3). Belief (genuine belief that embraces the Messiah) in contrast to unbelief (or hostility toward the true God) is the evidence of regeneration, a process as mysterious as the wind (according to John 3).
8. Christ will reign, but there will still be sin and wrong in the Millennium…the only difference is that is will be addressed.
MAIN IDEA: The Millennium shows human nature for what it is.
I. Satan and His Allies Will Be BOUND During the Kingdom (Rev. 20:1-3)
A. A Fascinating parallel: Isaiah 24:21-23:
“In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders, gloriously.”
B. Despite Satan Being Bound, SIN Still Abounds (see Psalm 72)
The Millennium shows human nature for what it is.
II. No Sooner Is Satan Released than He Gains a FOLLOWING (Rev. 20:7-9)
A. What this tells us about human NATURE
B. What this tells us about ENVIRONMENT
C. What this tells us about the LOST
The Millennium shows human nature for what it is.
III. The Final Judgment
A. Satan thrown into the Lake of Fire (10)
Rodney Buchanan put it this way:
“There are several popular theories people have about what eternity will be like. Some believe that there is no hell. Others believe that after you have been in hell for awhile, and suffered long enough, you will get out. Still others believe that those who don’t make it to heaven will simply cease to exist. All interesting theories, but what did Jesus have to say about it? After all, he is the one who stepped out of eternity and came to earth; surely he more than any other would know what eternity is like. Jesus said, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matthew 25:46). All of us were created to live forever, and there is nothing we can do to change that. We will live forever, either with God or without him. We cannot change the fact that we will live forever, but we can change where we will spend forever.” (Sermoncentral)
B. Lost mankind
1. Destiny determined by whether names WRITTEN in the book (15)
2. Degree of PUNISHMENT determined by works (11-14)
Mark 12:40, “They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely."
C.S. Lewis and the Great Divorce
C. Saved mankind
1. Believers generally do not appear at the GREAT WHITE THRONE (except those killed during the Millennium)
2. Saved people from our age appear before the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST only, not the Great White Throne (2 Cor. 5:10).
3. Degree of REWARD determined by our works
If you know Christ, you are part of the New Covenant, and you are considered righteous, even though you often fail. You will be judged as part of the New Covenant for the purpose of rewards. Those who do not have a personal relationship with God are considered unrighteous, not matter how well they behave. Their works are evaluated to determine their degree of punishment.
The Millennium shows human nature for what it is.
IV. The New Heaven and the New Earth (Rev. 21:1-4, 16-17, 22:1-5)
A. Sometimes these verses are applied to heaven now, but more literally after the Millennium
---present creation purified by FIRE (2 Peter 3:7, 10)
B. New JERUSALEM: a rectangle or pyramid; if ¼ populated, could hold 20 billion mortals…of course, we won’t be mortals…(21:16-17)
C. A Beautiful Description of ETERNITY (22:1-5)
D. When it comes to the Lake of Fire or the Eternal State, some of these descriptions may be figures, but they are NOT exaggerations…
The Millennium shows human nature for what it is.
Conclusion
1. What about you? Are you born again? Do you resent the true God?
2. If not, how about letting God work a miracle within you…a change of heart?
