The Final Battle Part 1

One. The race of life will last lap will be.

The Bible gives us signs point to the time when last lap may start and why we must be faithful to you. Stay with us from the church in Chicago this morning to win with Dr. Sir, whose clear teaching help us make it across the finish line after they say it's darkest just before the dawn, as we explore what is God up to tell us about the final battle there and those of us who take the book of Revelation rather literally. We believe that indeed there is still going to be a final battle but as we've emphasized in this series. God is always the winner and that's the good news and were so thankful that Christmas is just around the corner.

Many of us are indeed ready for Christmas were ready for the season where ready also. Of course, to emphasize Jesus Christ and to worship him. I'm holding in my hands a book entitled the Bible code. The subtitle is finding Jesus in every book of the Bible. It's an attractive book. We believe that this resource will be a special blessing to you shared with your friends for a gift of any amount. This book can be yours and thank you so much during this Christmas season. Thank you in advance for your generosity. God is given to us. We in turn give back to him.

Go to RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 number of years ago I read a story of a young boy who was reading a novel in the living room.

His mother called him and said Johnny come do the dishes. Sonoma my camp because right now I'm reading a novel and the villain has the hero down and he's about to kill him, so I can't come.

Now I have to see how the story turns out.

But as most mothers do, she persisted and after being persistent.

He knew that he had to go so he flipped to the last page of the book and read it in afternoon when he went into the kitchen. Evidently he said you know the villain is doing fine in chapter 6, but is he ever in for a shock when he gets to the last page. Now you know any evaluation of the way in which the world is going needs to include the fact that the bad guys seem to be winning.

This is not an optimistic day and age in which to be alive. Remember the days when we actually thought that maybe we could win the abortion war. What's more doubtful now than ever. Are you aware the fact that the militant homosexuals have won so many advances through intimidation they have.

The news media not only totally on their side, but also they campaigned early in the AIDS phenomenon for the right to infect others with this disease. I'm not talking about your average homosexual who struggles with homosexuality. I'm talking about the militants and there's a big distinction between them and others who may perhaps understand that they have this difficulty which they don't seem to be able to get over but were living in a day and age when there are expansive rights being given to homosexual groups. Far-reaching implications are chilling for society. We have a divorce rate.

We have movies that are filled with violence and are called to end, and moral impurity and Christian oftentimes are watching movies and filling their minds with all kinds of things that are totally contrary to what the Bible teaches. And yet justifying it on a number of different grounds. Because the human mind has the ability to justify anything that the human heart.

Really wants to do. Isn't it interesting that in the drug war which some people think that were beginning to win the drug war. The more information that goes out, the more people we have on drugs billions of dollars spent, and yet there is very little evidence that were able to clean the place up because the human heart craves that there is this high that people are and you look at society and you see the breakup of the home and you see the frustration and the emotional and spiritual entanglements that people have as they grow up because they don't have a good set of routes at home and you say to yourself, how much hurt. Can there be in this world anyway. It's clear that the villain has the hero down if there are any heroes left about to kill him. That's why today we want to look at the last page to find out how to land. If you've been here. You know that this is the seventh in a series of messages entitled what is God up to and in some senses. The most important message comes next week. The title is looking back to planet Earth because were going to pretend that we are looking at Earth from the vantage point of heaven and eternity, and finally answering the question of what in the world was God, up to and was all evil and all the pain in the world worth it to pull off whatever he had in mind. So I hope that you're here next week to hear the final message in the series. But what is God doing today what is it that he's doing today. He is calling out a people for his name. The purpose of the church in the world is to tell men and women that there is an eternity to which all of us are moving with great speed and necessity and that we must prepare to meet our God.

Now there many other things that flow out of that message but that is the bottom line. How has Satan tried to thwart the purpose of God in the world. First of all, he's always tried to get the church divergent. First of all, it was through awesome persecution. Sometime I'd like to preach a couple of messages on the early persecutions that went on in Rome and some of the other countries because we don't know anything we don't know anything about what suffering is one thing to die yourself you can be a hero you can say sure I'm going to be eaten by the lions and you can walk out there and they have for breakfast, but what about your wife and children. What about your family. How do they react, how would they get along without fathers and how do children get along without its excruciating during those early centuries, there was so much anguish. It's unbelievable and you do know that more people have probably died for the cause of Christ in the last century, and even in the first century. It's just that we live in this bubble of protection called the United States of America. There are other countries in the world where there is intense persecution where there are massacres in definite soul around. First of all, then Satan tried persecution. It did not work too well. Even the pagans began to get nauseated at the amount of blood was shed by Christian.

So when he tried to do after that was politics. He tried to get the church wedding with the state and when the church got whetted with the state. It lost its central focus almost immediately, because then the church became interested in such things as is political strength and political power and money and corruption in the gospel instead of being been used by which people are born again or say became adherence to a set of laws or principles within the church and within society and this of course was also combined with many pagan ideas and some of the light of the gospel almost was extinguished.

Now you find also that today Satan uses many of the same tactics of diversion. There are people today who actually think the responsibility of Christianity is to Christianize America through laws. Why believe in fighting for just laws, but that is the principal responsibility of the church because man has a problem that cannot be sold by temporal laws because he has an eternal soul and it takes an eternal answer to an eternal problem. Satan also likes to unite the various liberal Christian groups just last night I was talking to somebody who was talking to him about a retreat that some people were at an ecumenical retreat where the prophecy came, supposedly from God, from Christ and says my body on earth is broken. Please put my body together. May all the different religions of the world and all the different branches of Christendom get together you can be absolutely sure that that prophecy if it was supernatural at all was, not from God is not from the God of the Bible or the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible, but people think that if we become involved in social action brotherhood people together translate the gospel into political and social dimensions.

We will therefore accomplish something in this world that may be important, but not the important thing that the church is to be doing. You and I are to say to men and women that the world is really just integrating and God has almost abandoned the whole thing. As it rushes to just action and our responsibility is to tell men and women that there is a Savior, who is able to save them out of the mess of this world and a worse mass in the world to come. I told you at the beginning, though this message that today were going to turn to the end and see how it's all going. I've been emphasizing during this series that the earth is actually a stage on which God has enacted a drama good and evil, justice versus injustice Satan versus God this little planet was taken in the gray canopy of the universe and all the angels and the demons and mankind and God. It's all happening here. We are where the action will planet Earth. But today we want to hurry on and we want to see how the curtain is going to fall in to get to the final act of the drama. What I'd like you to do is to turn to the end of the book.

The book of Revelation and I would like to just mention briefly today three final events that are the last chapter last chapters of planet Earth.

We want to see how it ends.

Because if we can see that it ends in triumph will be able to get from here to there is a whole lot more enthusiasm. First of all, the first great event and were talking about grand finale is here. These are not little insignificant events. These are the biggies. These are the the cataclysmic events that are still going to take place on planet earth for me now were talking the intervention of God. First of all, Christ will return. Christ will return and his return really is into stages. Revelation chapter 19. You'll notice in verse seven we begin with the marriage supper of the Lamb. And you know who's going to be at the marriage supper of the Lamb. We will be there. People say are we going to eat in heaven. You folks on up the fast are you going to eat in heaven. The answer is yes of course are going to eat in heaven.

People think that in heaven were going to the spirits. That's nonsense.

You're not his spirit in heaven after Jesus Christ had his resurrection body. He said touch me because spirit doesn't have flesh and bone and then he ate fish with the disciples along the shores of the Sea of Galilee yes were going to eat at the marriage supper of the Lamb, the rapture of the church will been taken out.

I'm to be saying a lot of things today in many respects this message. I'm just going to be reading Scripture, but on the other hand, it does bring together a lot of strands which I don't have time always to stop to explain, but don't notice it says in verse seven. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to him for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his ride has made herself ready and it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the same and he said to me right. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said these are the true words of God.

Now that's a scene that is taking place in heaven. The marriage supper of the Lamb.

But what's happening here on earth. I'll tell you what's happening on earth is that you have a period of great tribulation, and the purpose of the period of great tribulation is first of all, that wickedness might literally run its course. The church is the salt of the earth. The church is the light of the world. And when God takes the church out all wickedness will be rampant with incredible abandoned. That's when you have antichrist raising himself and saying on God and people are actually believing it if Shirley McClain is God. Why can't the antichrist be God. So people will believe that the antichrist is God, and they will worship him and those who do not worship him.

The Bible says will be put to death. It will be getting us in its fullest dimension another thing that's happening during that period of great tribulation is God is preparing the nation Israel to accept the Messiah because in the and the nation Israel will look upon Christ and recognize him to be their brother and their Messiah pulses in Roman so in the and all Israel nation Israel that is in existence. During that time will be saved.

So what you have, then, is Jesus Christ coming.

First of all to rapture his people, then you have the period of great tribulation, and then he comes in the glory he said in Matthew 24 as the lightning goes from the East, even unto the west social the coming of the Son of Man be. It is a glorious triumph return and what will have happened at that time all the nations of the earth. It says in Zachariah will be gathered at Jerusalem and so you'll have the Eastern Confederacy coming up.

Of course, from the Eastern countries from Japan and China, maybe India will have your upcoming from the West and the lowly gathered there. Jerusalem and Bill begin that huge battle that final conflict called Armageddon and in the middle of it. Jesus, and all the nations of the earth forget their differences and say we got a problem that is bigger than our own squabbles.

Christ is coming. Let's all train our guns on him and let's unite and fight him and that's what you have now and the rest of chapter 19 it says verse 11 and I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse and he who sat upon it is called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and wages war. And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadem's and he has a name written upon himself, which no one knows except himself. And he is clothed with a robe dipped in blood in his name is called the word of God and the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, the white and clean, were following him on white stock everybody stop everybody awake at this juncture, my dear friend. The armies clothed in white linen. We just read in the 19th chapter of the saints were going to be with Jesus Christ. At that moment. Those of you who didn't come with us to Jerusalem this summer. Say I want to go to Jerusalem someday fine. You're gonna be here if you're a believer you're gonna take the final two or probably even better than Luther Stewart to Jerusalem where going to be with Jesus Christ.

My friend, as he comes and notice it says verse 15, and from his mouth comes a sharp sword is so than with that he may smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron and he treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty and on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, king of kings and Lord of lords who ask who wins all throughout the ages. It is always looked as if Satan was winning. We put all of our money into abortion battles and abortion still take place week we put our money into the drug or drug still take a sweet. We try to teach our children about righteousness and then subsequent generations come along and you have divorce and you have all that and you have you have pastors who stood up and warned their people about movies and then we gave up warning people and so they them by good and they've gotten hooked on various kinds of sensuality and it looks as if Satan is one another round and on and on it goes until it so weary. I get so tired of it.

My dear friend. We flipped to the back of the book. This is the way it's going and Christ is going to come and when you look at the carnage that takes place here. It is so awesome that to our 20th century sensibilities. We say you know this offends me because it talks about flesh being all over talks about the birds coming to eat the flesh of those who have been killed by this war and you say so gruesome it's so ugly you know why it's so ugly to us.

It's because sin tell us generally is not very ugly at all and we don't know how bad Santa is say we don't know how much God hates rebellion.

We know that he hates rebellion. You learn that in Sunday school, but we don't know the extent to which what if Jonathan Edwards was right when he said the size of the sin should be gauged by the size of the VA, against whom it has been committed while what if that's true then even the smallest sin deserves harsh complete judgment, so Jesus steps on the scene. That's the first cataclysmic event Christ returns in two stages. Now let me give you a second event and that is Christ sets up rule in Jerusalem and rules on the earth.

Oh, I know there's some people who don't believe that Jesus will rule on the earth again and I just feel sorry for them because they're gonna have to revise their understanding of prophecy after it happens.

They'll say yeah you guys were right. He's ruling on the earth. I've some very dear friends who say how can Jesus in his glorified body still rule on this planet will Jesus with his glorified body interacted with the disciple of chapter 20. This is where the rule is specified and 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 who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. I need to add a parenthesis year.

There are some people who believe that there will be no millennial kingdom on earth.

And so they think that this is the age of the kingdom. This is the age of the millennium, and therefore they also conclude that this is the age in which Satan is bound. There's a very well-known counselor who whom I have met and we had some interesting discussions who has written books on on the fact that when people come to you today for counsel.

You can know in advance that their problem is never demonic because this is the age of the kingdom and Satan is bound my word.

That's an interesting theory of counseling.

I guess Satan if he's bound has a mighty long chain mighty long train because this is a great chain in his hand, and it must be long enough to get all the way to Chicago all the way to the West Coast, not to mention the East we would want to leave them out and what can we say about California you Californians you know right well we love you we wouldn't talk like this.

If we did, and you'll notice they threw them into the this and shut it and sealed it over him so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed during the millennial kingdom.

Satan will be bound after these things.

He's going to be released just for short time, and I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand and they came to life and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. That is, those who were beheaded during the tribulation.

Who came to believe on Christ. Even though the church had already been rapture. I want you to notice it says that they came and they reigned with Jesus Christ disable pastor Luther, what are we going to be doing your guy have a glorified body and if you're a believer you will be raining with Christ to you say on the earth.

I thought maybe you know somewhere in heaven.

Well maybe somewhere in heaven eventually. But on the earth. Yes, what does it say in Revelation 510. You need not turn to it, but you must listen carefully. I'll even read verse nine to give you the context worthy art thou to take the book and to break its seals were that was slain, and its purchase for God with thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. Are you included in that.

Now notice and has to made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God and they will reign upon the earth. Risk-taking is all because the coming of Jesus Christ's sacrifice. And of course his future return someday were going to rain with Jesus Christ and we will reign here on earth. Meanwhile, during this Christmas season. We are so rightful for the many people who stand with us in this ministry of running to win. We know that Christmas is a busy time, but it's also a time for giving and as a result of your faithfulness running to win is now heard in 20 different countries in three different languages I'm holding in my hand a book entitled the Bible code finding Jesus in every book of the Bible would be wonderful for you to have this book and to read one of the sections each week in the coming year you'll find it to be easy to read. It will get to the point and it will show you that in the Bible Jesus is really the story line if I might put it that way for a gift of any amount. This book can be yours.

Go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 thank you so much for helping us together. We are making a difference asked for the book, the Bible code. Go to RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 thanks in advance for your prayers for your gifts and for holding our hands as we make it all the way to the finish line. We trust that God will give you a blessed Christmas season.

You can write to us running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 life as we know it will be over in a final battle at the end of the age.

Next time. Destiny for Satan, the enemy of mankind running to win is sponsored by the Moody church