The Future in Review, Part 1

So soon from heaven with a show and the Christ will rise first. So Christ is going to give a command. It's probably the same command that he gave often when he interrupted every funeral he ever attended by saying, rise so Christ is going to command in the dead bodies of believers the grays be reconstituted and rise to meet their soul in the air and be with the Lord. For the last several broadcast Stephen Davey has been working through a series from revelation he's been looking at what the Bible says about the millennial kingdom in a series called thy kingdom come. Today he begins the ninth and final message in that series.

This message is particularly helpful because in it. Stephen gives an overview of end time events is also going to answer some practical questions people have regarding the events of the end times. This message is called the future in review.

Let's join Stephen right now Sunday morning 11 o'clock. The ministry for third through fifth graders is called colonial corners. If you get 1/3 to 5th grader and are not aware that they will never want to miss it on one time. It's raising little creative town full sets in a room, actresses and actors in their original scripts acting out key truths of God's word. If you have the idea that I might be just fun and games and all fluff and meringue. They recently finished original series of vignettes on the attributes of God. I want to hear Scott Wiley, the pastor who is also the mayor of colonial corners. He has an annual ask the mayor week and the kids write out questions and then they go through the and he sends them to me. I asked him to do that every year because I'm intrigued by what our kids are asking here the question some of them from this last year was it possible for Adam and Eve to have not sinned in the garden of Eden. What does sin have to do with natural disasters, pain and sickness, can the Holy Spirit leave you what happened to people who died before Christ came to work. Why did God make heaven. Can you see earth from heaven will we eat in heaven. Can you see your family on earth. If you're in heaven, whether be computers in heaven will we have churches in heaven are there mochas in heaven will there be horses in heaven yes, but there will be any right here learning 3.well thank you, do we live in the new heaven or on the new earth. Why is the Bible called the Bible how do we know the Bible is true when the tribulation happened before the rapture does a church have to have a preacher I wanted to who asked that when he is the rapture just a few of the questions asked by third, fourth and fifth graders aren't you glad Pastor Scott answering them, offer us, you heard those questions and thought I like to have an answer myself get out of penciling to discuss cell phone number right now. Actually these were intriguing to me that many of the questions had to do with future events in heaven. Obviously, a lot of these kids are sitting in with us during our our studies and we just go to the very quickly, very, very quickly. Why did God make heaven to display the glory of his power and his grace to us forever. Can you see earth from heaven I believe so. In fact, given the implication that deceased individuals like the tribulation martyrs.

As we've studied not only know what's happening on earth, but they remember what happened to them on her and they pray Lord when will you vindicate the shedding of our blood, which gives some interesting applications about our own memory heaven. So going to heaven doesn't necessarily erase your memory, but it does give your memory a perfected perspective much like the maturity of of Joseph, who told his conniving brothers. Remember when they finally reconvene. He said to them, you did not send me here Dodson Genesis 45 later on course. He said to them, you meant it for evil but God meant it for good. Genesis 50 verse 20 had Joseph forgotten what happened to him. No, but his perspective was ruling over his memory and he had nothing but joy in the providence of God will lead in heaven absolutely like where you learn that free trees will bear fruit year-round for our enjoyment. We just won't gain weight and that wonderful thought, will there be computers in heaven. I wouldn't doubt it all in the new heaven and a new earth. We will not be on my present the systems of communication to see developed in the millennial kingdom. Perhaps entering throughout the day, the eternal state argument is so absolutely advanced. We probably affect. We cannot imagine being able to talk with. Perhaps someone on on the other side of the globe through vastly superior communication systems is not beyond the scope of our experience and it is not beyond the scope of the implications of Scripture, will we have churches in heaven will we have pastors. No. And everyone said, but what we have churches and in heaven.

Well, the church will be in heaven year the church is Billy. I know the child was was was wondering, we can only imagine that that we will assemble at different times all around the earth. Our joy will be to glorify God perhaps will take the Lord's day is a day to give him praise and will talk about seasons will talk about 24 hour cycles. There's a lot of misunderstanding about heaven, we might be somehow connected with everybody else. Through technology or travel arrangements to give God our praise were simply not told how but we do know the glorify God in song isn't something we're going to stop doing heaven praising him. Perhaps even a reflecting on the truths of his God breathed a word which David said is settled forever in heaven will be of great delight not only individually, but perhaps even corporately, but one child asked. Evidently they run the Starbucks everyone thought are there mochas in heaven.

Well I have I have little doubt that. But what will be able to eat and drink will utterly amazed us. I'm not sure, but mochas, somebody would have to grow the beans and cultivate them.

So he's gotta make some machinery. Or perhaps we could snap our fingers so to speak, as the resurrected Lord did at the seaside, as he called his disciples to eat. He appeared seaside after his resurrection and he had already charcoal fire and fish it in in some sort of skeleton fresh bread John 21, we may be able to do that. Peter illustrated the changes that will one day be commonplace. Your memory got out of the boat and he walked on the water perhaps will have that ability throughout the millennial kingdom is immortal in the coming new heaven and new earth doesn't mean it will have to walk on top or we can sink or we can swim our bodies to be able to do amazing things, and in fact we think of that a mocha doesn't sound all that difficult. Does the question was whether be horses in heaven absolutely in fact were told as we study Revelation 19 organic, writing back with the Lord on white stallion wonderful. One of the kids as when people when people die.

Is that what they look like in heaven. I certainly hope not counting on some major improvements right are glorified bodies will be perfected recognizable of the Lord was a recognized because he he blinded a shield of the eyes of of individuals for his purposes.

At times, and he didn't have to be reintroduced.

Everyone, however, so will be recognizable.

The basic distinctives of who we are, will exist are glorified body, but all of our joints are going to work without any pain. Our bodies will be without any disabilities or hindrances.

More than likely reverting back to the created stage of of a mature Adam and Eve.

The young may be, as the Lord was in his glorified body in his early 30s were not told for sure I was interested in one author, who supposedly died. Heaven came back and wrote a book that had been a bestseller by I skimmed through it it at the airport one afternoon and it bothered me that it become so popular among other things I found were wrong. It was interesting when he went to heaven that everybody was like he remembered them. He said even his grandfather look like his grandfather. I thought poor granddad how narcissistic everything revolved around me.

One child asked what we live in the new heaven or on the new earth. Both will learn together as though we study the father's house study heaven will be able to enjoy that house which will actually be on the newly constructed earth. There will be a new universe and a new earth to explore and I know this is going to sound really strange to you, but you'll find the heaven is on earth father's house will look at that together. Another child asked why is the Bible called the Bible the word Bible is simply the word bibliography transliterated into the Bible that means book we add the word Heloise or Augie on in front of it holy or sacred, and so we talked about the holy Bible. Another child as how do we know the Bible is true. Excellent question. We know it's true because the author of it moving through the prophets and the apostles. According to Paul's writing consecutively three that this is God breathed and if this comes from God. God never tells a lie. He always tells the truth when the tribulation happened before the rapture. You know the answer that after our study we noted the absence of the church during the tribulation. We noted the purposes of the tribulation which are not to purify the church. The church is already been purified without ever having to experience the wrath of God. We don't believe in some Protestant ties version of the Catholic doctrine of purgatory and Indiana talk to evangelicals who unknowingly supported as they defend the basic idea that the believer really ought to be purified through some kind of suffering before being allowed to enter heaven with the Bible clearly delivers to us the truth that we are justified we are purified now completely through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Romans 51 and and we been promised to be kept away Out the coming wrath of God. Revelation chapter 310 which will literally pummel the earth and mankind in judgment as God prepares primarily the nation Israel for their Messiah and displays his wrath is a final warning to unbelieving humanity. Last question when is the rapture, the answer is sooner than it's ever been right.

What amazing questions from third through fifth graders and how thrilled we can all be that even in our elementary ages, and grades answers to these questions are being provided from Scripture. Now we been studying our way through the millennial kingdom and I had intended to go a little further on in the chapter 20, but I've been getting a lot of feedback a lot of questions as well related to our study.

So what I thought we do is quickly review our timeline of future events and specifically answer some questions that have surfaced so far we've covered the rapture of the church is the church age hands and the tribulation.

Begin 90 my turn to first Thessalonians. If you want to hold your finger. There Revelation will them to spend more time outside of it that inside of it. First Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 13 I get asked about this again this past week. Paul wrote, we we don't want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest to have no hope of the word sleep is a metaphor for death of body looks like it's sleeping doesn't.

But Paul made it clear that at death, the body might lie motionless and still as if it were sleeping, but the soul of that person is just as alive as ever. In fact, Paul wrote to the Corinthians in second Corinthians chapter 5 verse eight to be absent from the body is to be present, with whom the Lord the soul, spirit that immaterial part of you that lives inside this temporary shell when the shell dies, as it were, goes to sleep so emerges is translated to be with Christ for the believer, the unbelievers all goes immediately to Haiti, where it awaits in that place of great torment, awaiting the final judgment. Luke chapter 16 gives you a look inside of Hades for your own study. The believers soul, however, is immediately transported at death in the presence of the Lord. A pulse as this in first Thessalonians 4 verse 15 for this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep in other words, when the rapture of the believers takes place. Those who are living, were not going to go up before those who die were in Christ.

Their bodies are going to come out first.

So Paul explains a number 16 for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first. So Christ is going to give the command.

It's probably the same command that he gave often when he interrupted every funeral only ever attended by saying, rise in that dead body came back to life.

So Christ is going to command in the dead bodies of believers that are decayed and turned back to DOS depending on how long they've been in the grave come out of the grays be reconstituted and rise to meet their soul in the air and to be with the Lord. Their bodies will be glorified, reconstituted, perfected and re-inhabited by their souls which all along have been with Christ and it all takes place about that quick and instant the twinkling of an forward to the Caribbean up. All right, verse 17 then we who are alive as women died we know Christ were not in the grave and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we always be with the Lord.

Therefore comfort one another with these words and every time you read that and in preaching from the text.

I have to ask, are you comforted by these words or are you convicted.

Do you know Jesus Christ.

Now we we have no idea when that rapture is going to occur in the church age and are you concerned with this news or confident. I love the confidence of one of our staff members who shared her testimony at our last Christmas program. Depending on what night you came, you may have heard hers.

I was struck by her decision and her husband's to have written on their tombstone.

This statement of faith hear the words they're going to have written on their tombstone quote and they lived happily ever after in a great that's true comfort why because they know that's not permanent that's not a permanent place. Their souls already with Christ will be reunited with his reconstructed body called out. First, the command of Christ and they enjoy Christ in face-to-face in a reconstituted glorified body now there is an intermediate body that a lot of Scripture given for us on that subject, but the body is able, as were told in Luke 16, to experience pain to long for drink of water to experience comforts. We have some kind of intermediate body. In the meantime, should we die before the rapture.

So Paul describes the physical resurrection of the body's of New Testament believers is the rapture then whisks the bride of Christ away to be kept out of the wrath of God, the hour of great trouble which will be poured out on the planet during the tribulation. We've Artie studied the tribulation at length.

According to Daniels prophecy seven years long.

The first 3 1/2 years. A relatively peaceful smaller simpler version of the temple is is rebuilt in Jerusalem and the Jewish people of regathered will attempt to reconstruct her Old Testament system of of sacrifices. It'll barely get off the ground when at the middle point of the tribulation, the Antichrist gains enough power and enough charisma with all kinds of false signs and wonders, much of it coming from the hand of his false propaganda, director of the false prophet the false preacher and he will make the claim to be God incarnate, you will place in the holy of holies the holy place in the temple and I don't love himself and he will demand the worship as God. Revelation 13 gives all those details during the last 3 1/2 years. Then the great persecution of Israel began because even unbelieving Israel will do that will refuse that many will be placing our faith in Christ as Messiah and Gentiles to come to faith in Christ through hearing the gospel as the only true and living God. Many of them will will begin to be martyred in great numbers and all the while the Lord is pouring out these cataclysmic events of his wrath and one disaster after another. Most of the world will be like Pharaoh who knows its from the hand of God, and they will refuse to repent. Hearts are hardened. Revelation 16 and 17 talks about all the natural and cosmic upheavals are coming from the hand of God, and eventually the armies of the world coalesce in the March against the Messiah as they see the Messiah descending with us. Evidently, most believe that is a very slow to send a longer warning. In fact, and yet the armies of the world will combine to March against them. They will believe that they can take him on and defeat him much like the battle of the end of the millennium, which we studied were the multitudes will March against Jerusalem one word from Christ.

Babylon will be crushed. These armies will be slaughtered in the blood will flow as deep as the bridal level of the horse. Satan then is bound for a thousand years in a deep abyss.

Revelation chapter 20 and that takes us about to where we are the 1000 year reign of Christ on earth begin to remember not the first time Christ appeared in the sky in first Thessalonians 4. He was coming for the believers. The second time Christ appears in the sky.

Revelation 19 at the end of the tribulation. He is appearing with the believers. I'm convinced the average Christian today thinks of his future in these terms, saved I've been called by God's grace out of darkness into a marvelous light.

He has redeemed me and I'm either going to die Oregon to be rapture and then have, that's what the average Christian thing.

I hope now you have in your minds. No, there's this 1000 year amazing epic of time when we will rain this incredible time of joy and glory and development on earth, and economy and business and arts and industry and made sure and discovery all waiting to play out on the stage of human history is the Golden age begins and we the immortals will call reign with Christ in this kingdom dies. Christ comes to establish that kingdom. There is another physical resurrection.

This is the physical bodily resurrection of Old Testament believers whose souls have been with our Lord as well as the physical bodily resurrection of believing tribulation martyrs. Revelation 20 clearly tells us will rain along with their not left out of the kingdom Old Testament saints. The true relation martyrs again to be given glorified moral bodies as they would us rain with with pricing so we immortals rain over the mortals, both Jews and Gentiles who believe the gospel. At the end of the tribulation and who were allowed to enter into the millennial kingdom.

Those who didn't believe in Christ during the tribulation will be executed and they will await their final judgment in Hades.

We however will enjoy this great period of time joy of discovery and those who enter the millennial kingdom in their natural bodies let children in fact thousand years of flourishing on planet Earth going to be absolutely amazing that I had one woman coming to me and she said to me you know this ideal ruling has no appeal to me at all if I can is no appeal to my my husband affect my husband would rather be flyfishing for trout work. Rather than working in a governmental hose. I said well tell him that he might be the one in charge of the entire industry of flyfishing he might be the person who tests out the newest equipment and decide who can fish when and where the best seasons for flyfishing at the best places he may very well get to enjoy flyfishing expeditions with either he can teach Andrew how to do it. They only know at ease and that they can share their fish stories only will be telling the truth. We have no idea how this rule is a rule no think of.

Okay, I got a government job in a behind the desk.

Everything that happens on the earth will be under the Regency of you the immortal accountable to Christ, everything, everything. It's encouraging to think about the air and realize that Jesus Christ will rain personally over the earth. It's also interesting to think about the fact that we as his sons and daughters will reign with him while Stephen has more to this lesson, but will stop right here and bring you the conclusion next time you're listening to wisdom for the hearts during the month of May. We have a free resource to celebrate and encourage mothers. Stephen has a booklet called motherhood in a variety of settings, are several things that are true of mothers. Mothers are consistently underpaid, often undervalued and many times taken for granted you're in it for life and sometimes it feels like you're giving it just that you're giving that your life and in this booklet.

Stephen offers words of encouragement to moms, you're not alone. In fact, God delivered some encouraging truths, especially for moms, those truths are revealed in the home life of a mother named. This is a free digital download that you can access from our website right go to wisdom online.org for information is a link on the homepage that will direct.

We do the print version of this booklet as well, but the e-book is for you today and is available@wisdomonline.org do that today. Then join us next time you're on wisdom