Heaven on Earth - Part 2: The Bad Guy is Bound - Part A

I work with law enforcement officers long enough to know that their code word for criminals and perpetrators is simply the bad guy and they feel really good when they can follow the lead in her hand and incarcerate the bad guy in the crime scene. The ultimate bad guy is Satan himself.

Chapter 20 shows that before the millennial kingdom on earth can begin this guy has to be calm and apprehended and incarcerated. There can be no thousand years of peace on earth until that happens. Jesus Christ is the greatest hero old history will get his victory over Sigmund death will be complete and will ride off into the light of heaven today connect with Skip Skip talks about the potential funding and the effect it will ultimately have on your but before we begin. Here's a great resource that helps you overcome life obstacles to pursue the life and opportunities God has for you. I've enjoyed watching the growth in the ministry of my friend Levi Luscombe this month's connect with Skip resource. Take back your life book by Levi Lesko as Levi to tell you about it's all around this idea taking back your life is a 40 day interactive journey thinking right so you can live right is good to be really powerful and special. I think some people to have this bellies in hardcover, which just makes me happy because I never had a booklist hardcover but has a ribbon so you really keep track of your progress through these 40 days. It would be an incredible gift to someone who is looking to grow in their faith or for any of us.

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It's a 40 day interactive journey to thinking right so you can live right 1-800-922-1888 Revelation chapter 20-the big issues that people have with Christianity is the problem of evil. Indeed it's a problem. It's everywhere they say, when will evil. Finally, and when will all the bad guys get put away. Why does it all have to continue so long.

Moreover, as our culture moves on. It seems that will take values of what is good and evil and turn them around. Consider a modern-day telling of little red riding hood would go something like this. Once upon a time in a faraway country with the little girl called red riding hood. One day her mother asked her to take a basket of fruit to her grandmother who'd been Ellen lived alone in a cottage in the forest. It happened that a wolf was lurking in the bushes and overheard the conversation, he decided to take a shortcut to grandmother's house and get the goodies for himself.

The wolf killed the grandmother then dressed in her nightgown and jumped into bed to await the little girl when she arrived he made several nasty suggestions and then tried to grab her by this time the child was very frightened and ran screaming from the cottage woodcutter working nearby heard her cries and rushed to the rescue. He killed the wolf with his acts, thereby saving red riding Hood's life. All the townspeople hurried to the scene and proclaimed the woodcutter hero, but at the inquest. Several facts emerged. The wolf had never been advised of his rights, the woodcutter had made no warning swings before striking the fatal blow. The civil liberties Union stress the point that although the act of eating grandma may have been in bad taste. The wolf is only doing his thing and thus did not deserve the death penalty. The SD asked students for a Democratic Society contended that the killing of grandmother should be considered self-defense and she was over 30 and therefore could be taken seriously because the wolf was trying to make love not war on the basis of these considerations, it was decided there was no valid basis for the charges against the wolf. Moreover, the woodcutter was indicted for on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Several nights later, the woodcutter's cottage was burned to the ground in one year from the date of the incident at grandma's.

The cottage was made a shrine for the wolf who had bled and died there all the village officials spoke at the dedication but was red riding Hood, who gave the most touching tribute.

She said that while she had been selfishly grateful for the woodcutter's intervention. She realize in retrospect that he had overreacted.

As she knelt and placed a wreath in honor of the brave wolf. There wasn't a dry eye in the whole forest.

Isaiah the prophet said woe to those who call evil good, and who call good evil to take the very principles what is valued and completely turn them around will hold to them. So, we wonder when's that can and will the same Isaiah, who wrote what I just quoted you also predicted a time of righteousness.

He said these words, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord is waters cover the sea. There is coming a time.

There is coming a time of peace, of justice, of divine retribution followed by an age and era of utopia won't be a dream I work with law enforcement officers long enough to know that there codeword for criminals and perpetrators is simply the bad guy and they feel really good when they can follow the lead and apprehend and incarcerate the bad guy in a crime scene. The ultimate bad guy is Satan himself.

In chapter 20 shows that before the millennial kingdom on earth can begin this guy has to be caught and apprehended and incarcerated. There can be no thousand years of peace on earth until that happens. Chapter 20 verses one through three. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand and he laid hold of the Dragon serpent of old who is the devil and Satan bound him for a thousand years, and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up and set a seal on him so that he should not deceive the nations. He should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years were finished.

But after these things he must be released for a little while Satan is at large. He is on the move. His head was bruised.

Genesis 315, predicted in his head was bruised at the cross, but here he is put away. Put in jail incarcerated for a thousand years before.

He's finally and eternally consigned to.

It's called the lake of fire which shows up later on in this chapter this morning because this is such a vital component of your eternity in mine. Let's just look at these three verses again and let's consider it.

Let's unpack it in four movements look at the pursuer the angel who's doing the job. Let's consider the prisoner himself better. Satan, the place where he's going to be in incarcerated and finally the whole purpose for so verse one tells us the pursuer that I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand that we don't know who this angel lists could be just any one of the Angels. My view is that it's probably etiquette is just my opinion, it's probably Michael Jude calls him the Archangel is like a big bouncer angel to be the perfect guy for this job and he's introduced in the book of Revelation. In chapter 12 verse seven it says and war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against Dragon now it's the end of the tribulation and the tribulation ends with Jesus Christ coming back and he puts it into a battle of nations that have gathered against him, and against his people at Jerusalem the Jewish people. The covenant people, and he puts an end to that battle and Michael will be a part of that Daniel chapter 12 verse one. At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people and I got I think that Michael would love the job he's been the archenemy of Satan, from the beginning there both high-ranking angels. They both fought each other.

Jude verse nine this is Michael the Archangel, disputing or contending or fighting with the devil about the body of Moses, so it would just make sense that the angel, the pursuer, the police officer arresting the bad guy would be Michael.

I want to throw this in, because it's important at this point, one of the biggest lies. Satan has is that he is somehow the comparable opposite of God. And this ideas even gotten into the minds of some Christians that you have this big cosmic battle in this corners God and in this corner is the devil, as if there somehow cosmic comparable opposites. Nothing could be further from the truth. The devil is not the opposite of God. He doesn't on his best day, come close to any of the power any of the strength any of the might of the one who created him. Satan is not omnipresent, not omniscient, not omnipotent. He would be more closely matched to Michael both high-ranking angels, one cell, Satan, one did not know when Satan fell.

How many angels went with them.

What's the proportion of 1/3 of the angelic host.

I just got a frame this for your perspective once again that rather than getting all weirded out because there's demons out there and there are not minimizing that if one third cell how many say that two thirds of every demon. There's two good angels and that's good news to you and I because the Bible says they help us and frankly I need all the help I can get the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 1, they are ministering spirits, spirits, sent to minister to those who inherit salvation so verse one. This angel comes down from heaven with a very specific agenda to pursue to apprehend two incarcerate to lock up for a thousand years Satan notice is the key to the bottomless pit key designates authority. You don't get in the door without the key here at Calvary we have lots of different rooms with lots of different locks and they take lots of different keys, but there are some keys that are given out. We call it the a key effect on the kids is a the achy election and the door. This angel has the achy he can even unlock the bottomless pit and incarcerate those that God sends them to do and it's got to be a great moment for this angel is like whoever it is all right the day is come.

Here goes. Because this is the day of Satan's humbling.

This is the one who wanted to be lifted up above all the other beings he was top of the heap in Isaiah chapter 14 we read that Satan said I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will be like the most high is what he said. I listen to what God said to him, same chapter, yet you shall be brought down to hell, to the lowest sides of the pit and now we read the fulfillment of that prediction in Isaiah 14 years ago in London there was a bar, a tavern and went by the name of the devil and St. Dustin the devil and St. Dunstan and of the British can have the weirdest names for things while after court. A lot of lawyers in the area would go to the bar. They talk about the court cases and so they would hang signs on their office doors gone to the devil because it was the abbreviated name for the tavern.

The devil and St. Dunstan while so many of the signs appeared that after period of time. The very idea was changed in the meaningless change gone to the devil mad gone to ruin.

That's where the term comes from that bar in England. The tavern gone to the devil when Satan caused our first parents in the garden to Brian to his lies and there was that great fall and the curse placed upon humanity. It was as if a sign were hung over the earth gone to the devil but now it's as if a new sign gets posted over the inhabitation of Satan himself gone to the pit where he will be there for a thousand years it comes to my mind member the Wizard of Oz. Ding dong the witch is dead which all which the wicked witch of ding dong the witch in this case, the devil is incarcerated for a thousand years. Let's look at this prisoner notice that in verse two he goes by not one but four different titles. John writes he laid hold of the Dragon that serpent of old who is the devil and Satan bound him for a thousand years. Most people today don't believe in a literal devil I do. You and I do Christians believe the Bible do the people for the most part, don't buy into the literalness of the devil his is a figure of speech is the embodiment of evil. He's the stuff that movies are made out of four songs are made out of.

I did little searchers.

A sampling of songs that use the devil and the devil and the deep blue sea. The devil with the red dress on the devil went down to Georgia I will dispute that the devil in her heart. Sympathy for the devil run devil run the devil inside the devil's train Gallup organization to the pole. They said 70% of Americans believe in the devil but half say half of the 70% say that he's a personal being. The other half say that he is the embodiment of evil, the impersonal force of evil is just a name for evil. Moreover, let me break it down for you because the Barna research group asked people to respond to this statement is the statement the devil Satan is not a living being.

He's just the symbol of evil to listen to this.

Of those who said their born-again Christians, 32% strongly agreed with that statement. 11% somewhat agreed with that statement. 5% said they don't know that means 48% of those who claim to be born-again Christians either say the devil is just a symbol of evil, not a real being or they don't know at staggering notes like the two little six-year-old boys. They were discussing the devil in the theology of the devil and will give you insight into the theology of a six-year-old. One little boy said while believe in the devil. The boy said well I believe in the devil you should too, because he's written all the way through the Bible was written about the first boy said yeah but it's not like really actually true.

The devils like Santa Claus. He turns out to be your dad. I never show that on Father's Day. Notice that in verse two.

He's called the Dragon that term for the devil.

The Dragon is a book of Revelation turn you find a 13 times in the Scripture, all of the book of Revelation, his wife, that will be his character and nature.

In the end times vicious, cruel devouring Dragon also is called the serpent of old that takes us back to Genesis chapter 3 when a beautiful creature appeared to even deceived her and just so you don't mistake who it is. Two other titles are given in the devil D Avalos means slanderer or one who defames you know why he's called that ganja is the Scripture says he is before the throne of God accusing us before God night and day out.

He's got have a lot on us if you can every mate night every day. Talk about God's children and slander us and defame us before his throne, and that is called Satan. That's is most common name in the Bible that appears 54 times and Satan simply means enemy.

He's your enemy.

He's your adversary. That's what Satan means that is good news because if you want to have any relationship at all with the devil. It ought to be that he's your enemy. You don't want him as a friend, Charles Haddon Spurgeon said there's something very comforting in the thought that the devil is an adversary.

I would sooner have them for an adversary for a friend all my soul, it would dread work with you if Satan were a friend of yours for than with him.

You must forever dwell in darkness, shut out from the friendship of God so right here is a climactic moment in redemptive history. The enemy of our souls grabbed, apprehended and placed in the bottomless pit.

This is the time when the roaring lion. That's what Peter calls right roaring lion is finally overcome by the lion of the tribe of Judah. Now with the devil, gone with the devil out of the picture. What a world this is going to be just that fact alone, no devil, the world is to be dramatically different in a number of ways. And again, I'll just give you a snapshot of what it's going to be like during the kingdom age months it would take to uncover all of the tax will give you just a snapshot number one, there's going to be changes in Jerusalem. This is one of the reasons I love to take people on tours to Israel and I've done it 31 times because it's great for people to see what it looks like now so that when they see it in the future. The I remember what it used to look like that that used to be over there.

This place is changed can get a makeover. First of all, when Jesus returns his foot is gonna touch what mountain, Mount of olives say Mountie left on and Zechariah 14 says his foot is gonna hit the Mount of olives. It's going to split into from east to west half the amount will be removed to the north half amount to the south in a huge valley will be made in between, presumably where the nations will be judged at the end of the tribulation. It's also called the Valley of Jehoshaphat in a huge valley will be formed. Mount of olives will look the same. Also, a stream of water will gush from the ground from Jerusalem and flow half down toward the Mediterranean Sea and half down toward the Dead Sea.

This is Ezekiel chapter 47, 48, the waters of the Dead Sea are going to be healed of the Dead Sea is called that because it's that not mostly that it's all dead. Nothing lives in it. The salt solution is so high on a few mycobacterial creatures but it's dead. The Bible says the waters will be healed and fishermen will spread their nets down at in Guinea, which is on the shores of the Dead Sea. An abundance of fish will be caught, life-giving Israel will occupy the borders. God promised originally in Genesis chapter 15.

That means the land of Israel will then include Lebanon, Syria, parts of Jordan Sinai and Iraq and other leaders of these countries would not be too psyched about that, but that's that's the borders. God promised that the borders are going to take. Moreover, the land will be divided the land of Israel into three sections north, south, and in the middle of the North seven tribes will occupy in the south. The other five and in the middle. That's for the priest will live, will officiate at the millennial Temple. That's just Jerusalem. Second thing in the millennial kingdom is that the animal kingdom will be tamed. You won't need zoos you won't need wild animal parts or cages.

The creation will be free from its bondage to sin, to what Isaiah writes in chapter 11 verses six through eight, and that day the wolf and the lamb will live together the leopard and the goat will be at peace calves and yearlings will be safe among lions, a little child will lead them. That's good with a message for you from the series from the edge of eternity right now.

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