So What Happens Next? Series

Revelation 20:1-10

The Thousand Years

1And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3He 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.

4I 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. 6Blessed 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.

Satan’s Doom

7When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8and 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. 9They 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. 10And 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.

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Things to come

When Jesus comes again, believers will be judged and then enjoy eternity with God in Heaven. Unbelievers will also be judged and then spend eternity in Hell.

Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. Loretta Lynn

The book of Revelation is probably the most puzzling book of the Bible. For many people it holds the key to the future of the world. Others see it as a curiosity, a tale full of strange symbols and creatures. The truth is that Revelation is the final statement, closing argument and final scene of the Bible.

We need to listen carefully to the words of Revelation and hear the clock of time ticking, and the clock is definitely winding down. When the events described here are done, the clock will stop. Time will end, an unbroken eternity will stretch into the future.

In Genesis, the creation of heaven and earth are described.

In Revelation, the new heaven and earth are described.

In Genesis, God says “Let there be light.”

In Revelation, Jesus is the light of the new heaven.

In Genesis, sin is born.

In Revelation, sin is destroyed.

In Genesis, Satan makes his entrance.

In Revelation, Satan makes his exit.

In Genesis, death comes to mankind.

In Revelation, death dies.

The message of the bible in 4 points:

- God created you

- God loves you

- God sent Jesus to die for you.

- God is going to send Jesus again to bring believers back to Him.

Revelation 21:6 presents Jesus as the Beginning and the End:” “I am the Alpha and the Omega ­— the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give the spings of the water of life without charge”

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So what happens next?

One of the most fascinating features of the Bible is that it is more than just a history book, it actually tells us what is ahead for our world and us. Both the Old and New Testaments speak of how the world we know will end and that God is working out His purposes until then.

“When the drama of history is over, Jesus Christ will stand alone upon the stage. All the great figures of history – Pharaoh, Alexander the Great, Charlemagne, Churchill, Stalin, Johnson, Mao Tse-tung – will realise they have been bit actors in a drama produced by Another” Helmut Thielicke

In the Old Testament the prophets looked forward to “the Day of the Lord” and to the intervention of God in reclaiming the world and bringing the resolution of evil. For those who worship God it will be a day of glorious hope; for those who serve evil and turn from god, final judgement will come.

The prophets envisioned a picture of security for God’s people – a time when nations would serve the God of Israel and a time when the law would be written on their hearts. The prophecies centred on the on the coming of the Messiah who would rule the world in righteousness.