The Coming Earthly Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, Part 3 B

You see, Satan is loosed in order to pull together all of the rebels reveal the true character of these Christ rejecting sinners to bring it into the light so that the destruction is manifestly unjust. The damage caused by a tornado. It can be stunning how one block of homes will be completely destroyed in the next block is relatively untouched and sometimes it's two houses side-by-side, one leveled one left intact was one thing to write out a natural disaster, but there is no avoiding the calamity that will hit your life on the day that Christ returns. That is unless you are prepared so make sure you're ready for Christ's second coming. That's at the heart of John MacArthur study called when Jesus comes here on grace to you so follow along.

Now, with John as he looks at the unparalleled events prophesied in the book of Revelation. Just imagine a world where righteousness and goodness dominate. Imagine a world where there's total and lasting and enforced peace, where joy abounds where health is widespread where people live for hundreds of years.

A world where there are lions and lambs flying down together and children can play in snake pits where bears and cows walk together, led by a child. Imagine a world where food is profuse and well-being is common to everyone. Imagine a world ruled by one perfect person one world ruler, and where under that world ruler only glorified, perfected, people are the agents who carry out his will and his purpose so that perfection range from the top right on through the whole system.

Imagine a world where sin is dealt with instantly and firmly well if you can imagine that kind of world you're headed toward understanding the character of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the kingdom become unrestored and radically reconstructed earth is coming because he is coming in the chapter before us presents the general character of that glorious paradise regained as the structure of the kingdom unfolds. Remember that in chapter 19 is the return of Jesus Christ. He comes back comes back to the great battle of Armageddon which she engages in it last a very brief time he destroys all the ungodly remaining on the world is the end of chapter 19 tells us, and then in chapter 20 he sets up his kingdom. The first thing we saw in the setup of the kingdom is the removal of Satan, the removal of Satan verse one. I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand and he laid hold of the Dragon, the serpent of old was the devil and Satan bound him for thousand years and threw them into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed after these things he must be released for a short time. The second thing that I noted for you in our previous study is the reign of the saints. Look at verse four.

This is another characteristic of the millennial kingdom. The thousand year kingdom. Not only will Satan be bound and consequently the world will be run by Jesus Christ himself who imparts that rule through his glorified saints from the Old Testament the time of the tribulation in the New Testament as well, but we see here in verses four through six. The reign of the saints, and I saw thrones. They sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those would not worship the beast or his image, and not received his mark upon their forehead and upon their hand and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years and that verse you have Old Testament saints.

You have those who lived during the time and ministry of Christ you have the New Testament saints, tribulation saints, all of them coming together the rest of the dead didn't come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection so you have all of the godly resurrected before the thousand years. As we noted, and you have the ungodly resurrected after the thousand years is over. Well, it takes us to the third point removal of Satan, the reign of the saints's character is the character of the kingdom of the third thing. That's the return of Satan become none of her seven very important when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison. The return of Satan. Now remind you again that during the kingdom. Satan has no party plays no role is not there and his demons aren't there with him. I think it's fair to assume that it wouldn't do much good if our Lord bound Satan didn't bind dollars millions of minions were running loose in the earth. I think the whole system is bound. Satan's binding ends. However, at the close of the kingdom, and it doesn't tell us how it just as when the thousand years completed Satan's release from his present. We don't know how is released on matter, how is released. Next question would be wisely released and that is the fair question.

Why would God release him. Let's more evident. Let me give it to no one say person will enter the kingdom.

It appears if you take all of the prophecies in regard of the day the Lord's day the Lord is exhaustive against the wicked in all of them die. That means the only people going into the kingdom are the people who are believers Jews, whom the Lord has spared and you know that is going to do that. Revelation 12 tells us how he hides them in the wilderness of the antichrist get destroyed and Gentiles who come to faith in the true Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ to escape the treachery of antichrist and all the rest of the judgments are going on the go and in physical body. Just like we have right now the be no different than us will go into the kingdom in a normal physical form. All the ungodly will be destroyed and so all you have in the kingdom then are believers all you have the godly those who belong to the Lord. If you need them word on that from Scripture.

You might listen to. Isaiah 60 in verse 21, then all your people will be righteous, they will possess the land forever is only the righteous to go into the kingdom. Verse 21 of chapter 19. After the slaughter of Armageddon says the rest were killed with the sword and that's all of them.

There is nothing in the Scripture that says any unbelievers survives the day of the Lord is able in the coming of the kingdom and have children. Sure and remember the conditions are perfect so they proliferate and they live long and they are productive for a long time, but they produce. Guess what sinners because that's all we can produce right even in millennial conditions were going to produce sinners because fallen people so their children are going to be sinners and the need to be saved. And amazingly, while many of them will come to faith in Christ and many of them will believe many will not in a thousand years. There can be millions of people on the globe. The exponential reproduction growth will be rapid and many of them.

Sad to say, will love their sin.

They are the ones that the Lord will judge. In some cases by killing them some cases, by some other kind of swift judgment. In some cases by holding back the rain so that they have to experience harsh living conditions. As we read earlier they will love their sin. They will refuse his grace, and they will refuse the Lordship of the king of all the earth. It's an amazing thing to think about actually though Jesus Christ reigns in a totally renewed universe. Though he has absolute power over everything and everyone though. It's a perfect world is glorious. Perfections are manifested through his person in his will.

And through all of the glorified saints to carry out his will, even though everything is exactly the way it ought to be.

Everything is right. Everything is peaceful there aren't any wars. Everybody's weapons of been pounded in the plowshares everything is flourishing all the economies of the world are doing very well. Everything is prosperity.

On every front.

Everything is bliss. Utopia has arrived. People will reject Christ. It's important to make this reminder that people reject Christ because they love what sin they are rebellious sinners and they love their sin and it really is not an issue. What kind of world they are living in.

I daresay there are people in this society today. Many of them millions of them.

Who would choose this kind of society or a worse kind of society over a society ruled by Jesus Christ within they have no particular love for righteousness in Romans 87 it says the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God. The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God. They will have ample proof all around them that Jesus is God. They will have ample proof all around them that he is the Savior. They will have ample benefits by his loving kindness and generosity and mercy and grace toward them. But in spite of all of that they will reject them. They will have all kinds of evidence of his miracle power and of his swift judgment. His equity but like the willful sinners on the were on the earth when Jesus came the first time they will reject him. The Pharisees according to Matthew chapter 12 said about Jesus. He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the beam. They said he's demonic we hate them, killing after they conclude that because they love their sin. They love their sin. So it is in the environment that saves people whether they are in a terrible one or a good one.

They rejected Jesus the first time he came and he showed them a glimpse of what a perfect world would be like. He basically banished disease from Palestine he forgave sin over and over, day after day, he taught truth demonstrated lovingkindness, generosity, created food for them to show them a little taste of what was going to be like in the kingdom. He fed them fish and loaves side of the sea gave them principles to make their life rich and rewarding and when they had their chance. They screamed for his blood because they love their sin. And that's the nature of depravity and no matter what the environment is doesn't change that. So Satan is loosed to offer cohesive leadership to bring all the rebels together so that what is latent can break loose. So what does God want to break loose so I can destroy it. You see, Satan is loosed in order to pull together all of the rebels to reveal the true character of these Christ rejecting sinners to bring it into the light so that the destruction is manifestly just see that God could just kill them all. But that's not the way does before they are executed before they are killed there rebellion is manifest so that all the universe knows that the execution that God brings upon them is a righteous one. So Satan is loosed to bring the rebels together providing the cohesive leadership in the demonic force pulling together to fight against Christ so that their latent opposition can be made manifest of the whole universe. Therefore, God's devastation and destruction of them is seen as just and righteous but a footnote here is appropriate.

I think the issue regarding salvation is never a lack of information. I want you to get that it's not a lack of information. Romans one says everybody has enough knowledge of God to be without what excuse, not information. It's not our failure to have enough evidence presented to you to make a convincing enough case or to make Jesus some lovely enough for the make the gospel winsome enough or convincing enough to make it attractive enough. The issue in evangelization is that sinners love sin John three. Their deeds were evil. They love sin. Men loved darkness rather than light, he says, because their deeds were evil. All these these modern post-millennialist we call reconstructionists. All of these who are trying to bring the kingdom by capturing the institutions of mentor political power.

All these these Christian political activists who keep saying I hear this over and over and over again. We have to get control of this country we have to get our people in power. If we want to have the freedom to preach the gospel and if you want to continue to see men come to Christ and I want to say to them that is not the issue that is not the issue. Spending all your energy and all your time and all of your money to seek to create a cultural morality as if it somehow enhances the gospel betrays a failure to understand the depravity of man doesn't matter what the environment is and when I read that some politician spends $25 million or 30 million or whatever amount of million. They spend to get them into political power for some noble spiritual purpose. My conclusion is that that's a kind of obscenity that's that's irrelevant to the advancement of the kingdom of God and I can only imagine what that same amount of money might do or directed toward the gospel proclamation we do well to consider that in the most moral culture. This earth will ever know, man will love sin unless you think that's shocking. Go back to the perfect environment in the garden of Eden. And remember, there were only two people and they both chose sin and they did it from innocence.

What will humanity do from depravity does matter what age does matter what kind of world they live in pray. People love sin and shows something else to it doesn't take Satan whether Satan is present. Her absence has not is nothing to do with depravity. People say well you know the devil is after me and you know I fell in the sin I don't think so that the devil was bound, you fall into sin is not the devil that makes you sin.

It's the devil that creates the system that tempts you. It's not the devil runs into your mind to do this do this do this do this I would know if he does, frankly, I don't. I never heard I would know if he was there sanity now would know how it know if he was in, but I do know this system which he has designed throws temptation at me from every angle so you can take Satan out of the system and you still got depravity and you could put the man with depravity.

In a perfect environment and is still going to love sin is. That's his nature for depravity is not that everybody is as bad as they could be, possibly, but it's that everybody love sin sin blind sinners in every age you can work all you want to to make cultural morality in this country. It's not gonna redeem anybody thing to change sinners. They love their sin and faculties make sinners mad and haven't you seen that happen wherever there is the rise of some Christian in politics or whether it appears as though someone who is a high standard of morality is about to get elected. The battle gets really heated because sinners don't want any encroachment on their freedoms so you have in the kingdom.

A generation of Christ would be Christ murderers rise so man's's depravity is not affected by environment. Satan's desperate wickedness and hatred of God in Christ are not altered by being in prison for thousand years. He doesn't get any better.

He gets worse. Now he's madder than he's ever been.

And when his release from the pit after this thousand years he comes out as evil as always in more hostile than ever. He doesn't change fellas and change people punishment doesn't change people is not meant to do that.

So you have the same wicked vial hostile fallen Angel.

You have depraved people and they get together at the end of the thousand years with the view of killing Christ that takes us to verses 8 to 10. The revolt of society. The revolt of society.

I'm just going to kind of introduce it because our time is really gone, but in verse eight it says that Satan when he is released from his prison will come out to deceive the nations. Now, as I said nothing external can change men. Their environment doesn't change the like. You can give him a bath and put a ribbon around his neck and still pick start to change his nature. You can put them in the purest environment and still not be what is and so now you've got Satan coming out and he's hating Christ more than he ever hated you got man who is unmoved by peace and the rule of righteousness as he loves us and the combination leads to this revolt Satan comes out to deceive the nation's obviously he is a deceiver. He is a liar and that's what he always does, and this is no different.

He's got a get a Malta battle and he has to do it by deception. He's gonna convince them it's gonna make sense.

I mean like these people know the power of Christ to been experiencing it for whatever length of time they lived in the world. They've seen the rod of iron work they've seen the swift and hasty judgment. They've seen him crackdown on sinners. They seen what happens to those who don't. Don't bow the knee to him. They know who he is. They've seen as miracle power is not a question about that is no big debate about is Jesus really the king is you really God that is not a debate is the question of information they know who he is. They have ample information and there will be a natural hesitancy on the part of these people to just go tackle him. Take him on and that's why it doesn't happen until Satan's is released and can go out and buy some means deceive them that this is a worthwhile enterprise is the ability to do it. Back in chapter 12 verse nine, the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old, is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world use a deceiver is always been a deceiver is always portrayed as a deceiver and somehow he goes out and pulls off this incredible deception back in verse three we saw that he had been deceiving the nations all along he hasn't deceive them for thousand years.

Now he comes back in verse seven is released in verse eight is deception begins again. His primary function is always to lead people astray always to deceive them, but you know just to remind you it's a it's an amazing thing to go back to this point that no matter what Satan does is just kinda carrying out God's purposes but bow together, then final word of prayer. What an amazing truth Lord. It is that we are already citizens of the kingdom. We are already subjects of the King by faith that even right now in our hearts we enjoy peace and righteousness, joy, power, truth and wisdom. Lord we are living in the kingdom now spiritually all how marvelous and wonderful it is to think about what it'll be like to live in the kingdom in a glorified form literally what a glorious future awaits us. What an amazing glimpse into the coming kingdom. Father, we thank you were literally overwhelmed. On the one hand we have been chosen to such glory and we are deeply grieved. On the other. For those who do not enjoy the first resurrection, but experience the second resurrection and the second death who will never know your kingdom and your rule, either spiritually or literally or eternally shall be cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth forever. Father, thank you for your mercy and your grace.

Give us hearts of compassion, may we, like Paul plead with men and women to come to Christ and escape the coming judgment all Lord we thank you for that day in which you will remove Satan in which the saints will reign in which Satan coming back needing a revolt will be finally and eternally defeated, will enter into eternal glory Lord, we don't need to go through life wondering about the future. You've laid it out so clear. Thank you that by your mercy and grace you've made us a part of for the glory of Christ, whose name we pray.

You're listening to John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary. As he continues his compelling look at the return of Christ. Today's lesson is part of John's current study on grace to you titled when Jesus comes. Now I know John that you said why questions are tricky to answer. Like why would God do this or that, but I would ask you one anyway because it relates to prophecy what were talking about. Why do you suppose God would give so much insight into how human history will end simple answer. They want us to know he wanted us to know there's no sense in a believer living in fear or doubt questioning, but how bizarre is it that the Lord has given us so much revelation about the end.

And Christians insist on being confused just makes no sense God did not write the book of Revelation to confuse us but to bless us. Blessed is the one who reads and understands this book. I think the end matters. I think God wants us to know how this in the beginning matters lay we we fight for literal interpretation of Genesis 1 to 3 when we fight for a literal interpretation of Revelation the same God and speaking with the same clarity it is to me one of the most disturbing facts of the evangelical church that people and leaders. Pastors are content with a kind of default position on the book of Revelation that says well you know could mean this could mean that not really sure going to be dogmatic. Don't deal with that every Christian needs to know the end of the story. That's why it was revealed, let me suggest that we have a resource that will help you understand the book of Revelation. You'll get it. It's titled because the time is near, takes the entire book of Revelation. Verse by verse condenses it into 300 page book and explains everything through that book cohesively coherently taking the word of God at face value. This explains all 22 chapters of Revelation. Verse by verse.

The title of the book because the time is near to been very popular and well received. Would love to get it into your hands again. The cost is reasonable to paperback book you need to understand the truth of Revelation. That's right, friend. We want you to take hold of the blessing and joy that comes from reading and understanding the book of Revelation. So I would encourage you to pick up because the time is near.

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Pick up a copy in English or Spanish by calling 855 grace or visit us online@jidety.org and L before today's broadcast ends. Consider the tangible role you have in proclaiming biblical truth to hungry listeners.

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