Chapter twenty in the book of the Revelation is our portion today. And you will find your lesson sheet is page number thirty. Chapter twenty in the book of the Revelation. Now may I state, as we close last week with chapter nineteen, and as we continue in chapter twenty, and as we shall continue in chapter twenty one down through verse five, may I make it very clear these events in chapter nineteen, chapter twenty, and opening chapter twenty-one through verse five, and even through verse seven, I believe, or eight, you have consecutive events. They follow in sequence. Now there have been many things in our book of Revelation, and we shall see it again, where the Spirit of God has retraced some of the events and given us greater details about those events. following their reference. But as we come to chapter nineteen, twenty, and twenty-one through verse eight specifically, these are consecutive events. Now let me please read, and I'd like particularly to go to verse one through verse three, and follow the outline upon your lesson sheet, where we read in chapter twenty and verse one through three, John says, I saw an angel come down from heaven having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand, he laid old of the dragon, that old serpent which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years, and that would be the millennium, should be fulfilled. And after that he must be loose our little season. Now very briefly, concisely, as you have on your outline, you note, and we shall see through the chapter, there are four sections to it. But we have the first fact, verse one through three, Satan is bound in the abyss or the bottomless pit for the thousand years of the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now you note on your lesson sheet, there's a reference to the fact under letter A, this is not the final judgment of Satan. We shall reach that final judgment in verse ten. But it is for the imprisonment of Satan during the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just a brief commentary upon that millennial reign. No details are found in our chapter. Very few, except the time, as well as those who will be enjoying that rain they are mentioned. But the Old Testament, particularly the prophecies, as well as the Book of the Psalms, have much information and more information relative to the literal reign of the Lord Jesus during the millennial kingdom that will be hit upon the earth. Last week at the end of chapter nineteen we read of his visible, glorious appearing coming down from heaven to destroy the enemies upon the earth and for the purpose of setting up his kingdom for that thousand years. But during that period Satan must be bound. Now that he's only bound and not given his final judgment is because we shall see that at the end of millennium He's let loose for the purpose of testing those who profess obedience to the reign of the Lord Jesus upon the millennial earth. And he proves that many of them still unregenerated during that period of one thousand years, born and living through that period, they are ready to follow Satan when he appears. But now let's look at verses four through six. This is really the only... Mention of the millennial reign in its duration. And we read in verse four. These words, I saw thrones. Note the plurality of the name. Thrones. They sat upon them. Judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, which had not worshipped the beast. Neither his image, neither had received its mark upon their foreheads or in their hands. They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead, they lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that had part in the first resurrection. On such the second death have no power. but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years. Now this is the brief explanation and the executive following of the reign of the Lord Jesus when he comes to the earth, a period of one thousand years. This is the only place we get the meaning of the word millennial. It really is the Latin word derived from the Latin word. not even the Greek, but it means one thousand. And through that one thousand years the Lord Jesus is going to reign. But please note something very special as we look on our lesson page and under section number two. This millennial reign of the Lord Jesus, even in our book of Revelation, it was foretold in Revelation chapter eleven and verse fifteen. But then, as emphasized previously, It is the burden of Old Testament prophecy. Let me give you a little insight on the meaning of it. If you may remember when the Lord Jesus was upon the earth, and you read particularly in the Gospel of John, that sunset of the Lord Jesus, when Messiah comes, he shall reign. For the Lord Jesus had been telling his disciples and others, but especially his disciples, that the Son of Man must die. Now that was a strange thing to a Jew. That the Messiah must die. That's where the Jew stumbles today. The Jew reads Isaiah fifty-three and sees nothing concerning the death of the Messiah. In fact, You find the Old Testament scriptures, even Zechariah, many of the minor prophets, and the book of Psalms, David, foreshadowed and foretold a Messiah that would die. That the Jews couldn't conceive of. They cannot yet conceive of it as a nation. So when he comes, he will deliver us. He'll be our king. I know how they stumbled. and are still stumbling over the fact he came first of all to die. He must suffer before he will enter into his glory. And so we can recognize the older burden of the Old Testament prophecy. It told the mountain peak of prophecy regarding the coming glory of the king. And may I state this, you in all the prophecy from Isaiah all the way through Malachi, You read of the awful condition spiritually and morally amongst God's earthly people. But there's not a prophecy, but what? Within it. Either within or at the end of it. Points to a coming day when Messiah will restore them and reign over them. And that period of reign is described. Oh, vividly by Isaiah the prophet, particularly if you begin reading in chapter sixty-five and chapter sixty-six, well even from chapter sixty-three and on, and can read in the millennial, and even in Ezekiel from chapter forty, down through forty-eight, the glory of that millennial kingdom, as well as in Zechariah and many other prophecies. So the Old Testament prophecies are certainly true to the fact he will reign. Now we note the second reference on our sheep. Saints of all ages will share the reign with him, whether they are old and New Testament saints alike. Saints of all ages will share the glory of that everlasting kingdom. Whether from the heavenly side, where the church will be particularly, and the earthly side, all the saints. Let me give you one example. Read the last chapter of Daniel. Dear Daniel. Oh, how he longed to see the Messiah. How he prayed for the restoration of his earthly people. How he hoped at the end of the Babylonian captivity, which he knew was prophesying to be seventy years. He looked forward to a restoration, hoping it would be the coming of the Messiah. And then as God unfolded to him, Daniel, it's going to be a long time. And Daniel recognized, it was going to be many a century, before them a fire would rain, and its nation would be restored and given the glory of its kingdom under Christ. For Daniel was told, Go thy way, Daniel, and rest. You'll stand in that day in the glory of the kingdom. Those Old Testament say, Go back, humbly let me say, how'd you like to meet Adam? You will. Able. Name them all. All the saints of all the ages will share the glory of that kingdom. Some on the earth, and we who belong to the church, as we saw last week, married to the bridegroom above, will be his heavenly bride in the heavenly sphere. But note also, and this is a good reference that we read, and we noted it particularly at the end of verse, at the end of verse seven. that those who had been beheaded, those who had been martyred during the reign of the Antichrist, they too will be resurrected to reign, as well as living saints that will be on the earth when Christ comes. They will reign with him. Now, will you please note these words? We'd like to especially refer to them as you go to verse five. But the rest of the dead... Live not again until the thousand years were finished. And then you have the comment. It doesn't seem to connect itself very easily to understand. This is the first resurrection. What I would suggest, you put the first part of verse five in a parenthesis. And connect the end of verse five with what you read in verse four. For what you have, it's only the saints who are in the first resurrection who will participate in the glory of the kingdom. Those who are unsaved throughout all the ages will not be in the kingdom. Now I want to give you, I've got a reference I would like to turn to it. Chapter five in the Gospel of John. Chapter five in the Gospel of John. We wish to emphasize what the Lord Jesus did, and that is two resurrections. The resurrection of the just and the resurrection of the unjust. The resurrection of the righteous and the resurrection of the unrighteous. Two distinct resurrection. Let me read in John five the words of the Lord Jesus, verse twenty-eight and verse twenty-nine. Note the words as the Lord Jesus says, Marvel not of this, but the hour is coming, in which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice. In other words, makes no difference who they are, where they are, how they were buried. They're going to hear the voice of the Son of God, calling them from the grave. But now look at verse twenty-nine. And they shall come forth. But note, they that have done good under the resurrection of life, they that have done evil under the resurrection of damnation or judgment, Please note there are two resurrections, one of life, the other of judgment. Now they are not at the same time. I'm sure you may have, as I have in the past, in early days, listened to the service at the grave side of some preachers as they commit the body to the grave and the soul of the departed to the Lord. They often close with the expression, until the general resurrection. For it's often been the consensus of opinion among some theologians, there's only one resurrection that all will stand before God at one time. Now that is contrary to the teaching of the Word of God. There's a distinct separation. Those at the coming of Christ, as we have been studying in our chapters, who are his will be raised. And those who are his who died in the Great Tribulation, they will be raised. And they comprise the whole first resurrection and participate in the glory of the King. But note in verse four, as we read, the rest of the dead live not. So you cannot say there's a general resurrection. The rest of the dead live not until the thousand years were finished. And we'll come down the chapter and see more of that. So we have, if I may read verse five, verse six, please. We've got the blessedness that the Spirit of God eulogizes the blessedness of all in that first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that is part in the first resurrection. On such the second death hath no power. But they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. May I just pause for a moment, reflecting with you the character of that reign, and the character of the saints. The character of the saints. All of them, God's priests, reigning with him, whether from the heavenly side of that kingdom in its glory, shining on the earth as we shall see in the new Jerusalem above. or even upon the priests of God and enjoying that kingly glory of reigning with him, they shall be priests of God and of Christ that shall reign with him. Oh, beloved, may I say, what a glory will be. The saints, all of them, redeemed by his precious blood, whether Old Testament saints, whether church saints, whether tribulation saints, they're going to enjoy the glory of his reign for one thousand years. and they are called priests. May I suggest something? What a wonderful world when the Lord Jesus will have every saint, a priest of God. But now let's go to the next section. For here we come to the third section, which brings before us what's going to happen at the end of the millennium. When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison. shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, God and may God, to gather them together to battle, and the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. They went upon the breadth of the earth. They encompassed the camp of the saints about, and the bill of city, which undoubtedly is the earthly Jerusalem. And fire came down from God out of heaven. and devour them, and the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. Now here's your third section of the chapter, consecutively taking place. In that order, first Christ comes to the earth in the glory of his power to set up his kingdom, and then, but next, You have the devil bound for that thousand years. He'll not be upon the earth, tempting, leading men astray. The reign of Christ will be Satanless. But may I also remind you, and we can see the reason for it as we come to our next section, there will be men and women born during that kingdom. And God has always used Satan to prove the reality of those who belong to him and those who do not belong to him. We may wonder why he permits Satan to be only bound instead of delivered to his final destination during the millennium. Ah, the human race has to be tested at the end of the millennium. Now, may I say very frankly, clearly, Every saint during that millennial reign, every saint that enters at the beginning of it, there'll be eternally there will be. The Lord, look please, go back to Matthew twenty-five for just one moment. At the end of the judgment of the living nations, I want you to know what the Lord Jesus says regarding the division of the human race when he sets up his throne upon the earth under the judgment of the living nations. And they are divided, the sheep, from the goats. And the sheep go into eternal life. They enter the kingdom. The goats, they're cast into eternal fire. But read verse forty-six at the end. These shall go away into everlasting punishment. Those who are the rejected ones. And who have rejected him. But they're righteous into life eternal. And my beloved, let me just say frankly. And. Thankfully, every saint that enters the kingdom possesses eternal life. They have either been resurrected from the dead, or they have been amongst the living who were faithful to the Lord during that great tribulation period and embraced the message of salvation. And they'll have that eternal life forever. But then again, let me remind you, there'll be men and women born, the human family, For one thousand years will prosper again. There'll be very little sickness. Yes, it's Isaiah, I think. Isaiah, I believe, twenty-four in verse thirty, no, verse thirty-three, chapter thirty-three in verse twenty-four. We read that in that day the inhabitants shall not say that I'm sick. My thank God, all the hospitalization won't be needed in that day. All of the medical societies will be gone. Christ comes in his healing power. And don't you try to practice what he's going to do today even. Let him come and do it as he will worldwide. And anyone that dies according to Isaiah sixty-five will be considered an infant if he dies or she dies at a hundred years old. And there's only one reason for anyone to die during the millennium when they rebel against the word of God, when they rebel against the reign of the Lord. So it will be an exceptional thing. That at the end of it, many of them will have obeyed the Lord, but unwillingly. That a fear, remember that we said, he's going to rule with what? A rod of iron. And that iron rule. Man must obey. Now I'll give you this thought. Do you know, beginning with the Lord Moses, beginning with Israel's inception, and all through human history, with one exception, men are under law. That during the church age, the saints are under grace. Back in the Old Testament, under law. In the New Testament, during this present age, under grace. This is the age of grace. When the millennial kingdom is set up, it's law. Let me give you the truth of it. Matthew five, six, and seven is the constitution of that earthly kingdom. And you have the repetitious phrase. When the Lord Jesus speaks of the moral, spiritual, principles upon which he will reign, sometimes quotes the Old Testament, but he adds frequently, I say unto you, I say unto you, And may I say that the Lord Jesus will speak, and his word must be obeyed. It's an iron rule. But at the end of it, a thousand years are finished, and under the blessing of such a reign, earthly blessings, material blessings, and even heavenly blessings for that matter. It's the kingdom of heaven upon the earth. In the human heart, Unregenerated is still the same. And what you find as we have read, Satan is, let me read you outline, please. Note it under your lesson under section three. Satan is used to test mankind at the close of the millennium. And the last human confederacy against God will be led by Satan as we read in verse eight. But the inevitable result, judgment and destruction from heaven above. You note, please, in verse nine, there's no And it's strange, but how true the fact is, in verse nine, the enemies come against a beloved city, and the beloved city can be nothing but Jerusalem, the capital of the millennial earth. And that beloved city and the saints of that city, from which the rule of the Lord Jesus emanates, will be the object of satanic and human destruction, if possible. But please note, there's no battle. I believe literally what we read at the end of verse nine. Fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. And then you've got the final doom of Satan. In verse ten, he's cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. There he will be forever. There will you please note something, the company that he finds, where the beast and false prophet are. And then note After a thousand years, the beast and the false prophet are still there. And they shall be tormented. How long? Day and night, forever and ever. May I say humbly, there were some, and I believe the same day Adventists have in their creed and in their doctrine, the teaching that denies everlasting punishment. And they teach the doctrine of annihilation. Believing... Even at the end of the millennium, God will just destroy those lost souls. Oh no. Please let me say, we'll go down to the end of the chapter, the next section, we'll find all the dead are resurrected. Spirit, soul, body. The whole being of the last person, they go into the lake of fire. It's eternal punishment. May I say it humbly, but carefully. Beware of doctrine that denies everlasting punishment. And you've got it literally here? Forever and forever. Now we come to the great judgment of the white throne that is the close of the chapter, verse eleven through fifteen. Again, let me say these are consecutive events. The descent of the Lord in chapter nineteen, following the wedding. And then the millennial kingdom begins. Satan is first cast into the bottomless pit. Then the millennial kingdom. Following the millennial kingdom, Satan is loose. And his final destruction is given. Now comes the very last event that must and will take place before eternity begins again. We read verse eleven. Let me read the chapter through from verse eleven to the end. And John says, I saw a great white throne, him that sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were open, and another book was open, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their work. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it. And death and Hades, which is the proper word, the prison house of souls, they living up the dead which were in them. They were judged every man according to their works. Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Note your outline on your lesson sheet. We'll cover it briefly, but thoroughly. First of all, now we see the last great judgment, the judgment of the wicked dead. Will you please go to the bottom of your lesson sheet? I want to point out very quickly, I may be outlined just for your benefit, that there are four future judgments. Again, let me please say, there is not one general judgment. And even the word of God tells them, we enumerate them quickly. First, there's the judgment seat of Christ, which is for believers only. You can follow the scriptures if you decide to follow the truth through, which will take place in heaven. We touched upon it last week, relative to the marriage of the land and the bride, the wife, making herself ready. Second, there's the judgment of the living nations, which we referred to in Matthew twenty-five. This will determine that those who are living upon the earth when Jesus comes, whether they will go into the kingdom or not. And then third, and we come to it now, there is the judgment of the wicked dead, as we read it in our portion. And this takes place, as we have said, at the end of all time, at the end of the millennium, just before eternity begins. And then there's one more judgment. Uncertainness to the time of it is the judgment of fallen angels. Spoken of in First Corinthians six and verse three. Where Paul says to the saints of Corinth, What know ye not that ye shall judge angels? And there's no scripture that designates the time of it, nor the place of it. But it could possibly be at the time of Satan's doom. And all the angels that is fallen angels, unholy angels will be in the lake of fire. So there you have the distinction between those judgments that are yet futures. Now going back to our lesson then under paragraph number four, note first of all the throne and the judge. A great white throne. Great. Oh, beloved, the vastness of the occasion. Who can tell? Who could measure the numberless persons that will be standing before that throne? And it's described as being great. It's described as being white. which unquestionably would imply the purity and the holiness of the judgment. And of course the throne itself indicative the governmental authority and sovereignty of the one who is the judge. And then you please note who is the judge. Let me refer to the fact that the judge will be the Lord Jesus. Go back to John five again. John chapter five again. We must refer to the verse that is in the twenty-second verse of that chapter, where the Lord Jesus made the statement, Please note it, For the Father judgeth no man, but have committed all judgment unto the Son. Oh, beloved, at all the judgments, the Father we have named, the Son himself is the only competent judge. and think of all mankind, unredeemed, unregenerated, dying in their sin, raised at the last day, standing before the judge, seated upon the great white throne. Please know, first of all, what John says about that, from whose face the earth and the heavens led away, and there was found no place for them. From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. You have a reference, we won't turn to it. Second Peter chapter three and verse ten tells us of the destruction or the dissolution of the present universe as we now know it. And thus in that day the heavens and the earth will flee away. It's strange to say, note something. In Peter it says, and there was found no place for them. You have it right here in verse eleven. The earth and the heavens led away, and there was found no place for them. And yet I saw the dead, small and great stand before God. Let me ask you a question. If there's no heaven and no earth to stand on, what do they stand on? They stand in space. They'll all be spacemen. Yes, they will. Well, Walter Scott wrote a poem called Lockhill's Warning, in which he had this expression, relative to an old couple facing death, very near, knowing it was coming to. Coming events cast their shadows before. Now let me just pause for a moment. I never had the thought before. It just came to me. Here are the unsaved dead. standing in space, and here we have men going into space, into the regions of space. Yep. They go up there and they get back, don't they? Weightless. My. Can you imagine all the human race that's unsaved from the days of the early history of the human race to the end, standing in space before the judge? They'll stand where they belong. But please note, as we go on, and that is the fact to realize The unsaved dead, they stand before God, and the records of all human history are the unsaved, are exposed. Read the words as we have them in verse, text twelve. John says, The books were open. The books were open. Oh, beloved, the record of every human life. My. Let me go again with you, please. Coming events cast their shadows before... And in this present computer age, which really bamboozles me, I just can't take it in. God's got a better and a bigger computer system. And today, look, men today push a button, and they go back and get what they want to know, what happened a long time ago. And bring out all the records. I'm telling you, you don't have to use your head anymore. And some of the girls at the cashier's place, I don't believe they could count money at their hands if they had to. Paul comes out on the machine and that's what you owe me. And if you change, that's what the change is going to be. Push a button. Let me say again, man is trying to catch up with God, he never will. God's going to catch up with him. And the books will be open. More than that. Let me give you this thought. Every life will be revealed. How long will it take? Well, let me give you this suggestion. I know this is true. Of a man that almost drowned. And fortunately was rescued before he could perish. But who confessed that in that flash his whole life came before him? As he faced death and thought he was going to meet God. I'll tell you one thing. God will bring in review the life of every person. They won't have to go day by day and go through millenniums to show just what they did throughout their life in a flash. The record will be revealed as the books are open. And please note. As you read it, the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. And my beloved, every man and woman stands there before God to be proved from their life what they have been and what they have done accurately and clearly and completely. The record will be complete. And they'll be judged according to their work. Now you have people today. We've got a lot of people that preach salvation by works. I remember a Mormon one time. Oh my goodness. I got sick of arguing with Mormons at a tent meeting I had in South Carolina about fifty years ago. And as I've been preaching salvation by grace through faith in the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross that night, he questioned me. And of course, I'll tell you one thing, you're wasting your time when you're talking to them because you'll never convince them. But he questioned me regarding the fact that I had to do something to save himself, even though Christ had died. I said, I don't believe it. and said, why was I preaching Christ and his death upon the cross of Calvary? Oh, said the man, he had to do something that we couldn't do for ourselves. I said, listen, as long as I live, I'm going to preach that Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. And he looked at me, and he said, you don't believe in what? I said, I do, but not for salvation. He said, you're frankly. You follow more on this. This is a big system of work, as well as many other things are. The works will be reviewed. If you don't believe, well, the context tells it. Look, look in that tenth, twelfth verse again. Would you please note right in the middle of the verse, another book was opened, which is the book of life. And make a distinction between the book and the one book that's called the book of life. Now go on, and we shall see. That is, they are thus reviewed. We shall see the results. As you go to verse thirteen, the sea gave up the dead which were in it. My goodness, many people have been buried at sea. You don't tell me that God's going to get them up from the bottom of the ocean? He sure is. And it made no difference if they cremated their body and threw the ashes to the wind. Dust thou art, so dust thou shalt return. And yet out of that dust, God's going to bring them back to life in the power of resurrection. And the sea gives up the dead, as well as the earth gives up the dead which were in. And we find death and Hades, the unseen world, deliver up the dead which were in them. And they were judged every man according to their work. Now please let me state, the measure of their punishment will be according to their sin. They're not all going to suffer the same. There's no question. It will be a righteous judgment, a true just sentence. Their punishment will be no greater. Remember the Lord Jesus told him one parable, one would be beaten with a few stripes and another would be beaten with many? As that Mormon said to me, Would God be just to put a man in hell? That's how he started his argument. Would you say God was an unjust God? Of course, he said, no, he isn't an unjust God. And then, of course, he brought out his problems and his puzzle and his wrong teaching. But it will be justice, not mercy, justice. And the punishment will be equal to that which they have earned. That's why the books are open. They're judged according to the works, every one of them. But please note the sad result. Death and Hades are cast into the lake of fire. And this is called the second death. And of course, as you look at verse fifteen, you find the climax of it. Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. was cast into the lake of fire. The book of life. I think of a dear old hymn. We often have sung it in the past. Lord, I cannot for riches neither silver nor gold. I would make sure of heaven I would enter the fold. In the book of thy kingdom with its pages so fair. Tell me, Jesus, my Savior is my name written there. Yes, thank God my name's written there. On the page wide and fair. And in the book of thy kingdom, my name's written there. Oh, beloved, the book of life. The book of life. You can have your name written everywhere in the world if you want. You can join every church in the country if you desire to. And I don't believe you'd have any trouble doing it either. But that won't save you. It's the Lamb's book of life. Your name must be in. And can only be written there. when by faith you trust the Lord Jesus and his precious blood. Oh, thank God. I think of a dear man. I led to Christ at the end of a wasted life before he died with cancer. And last time I saw him, I looked down and had him on the bed. He was conscious. And he looked up at me and he said, Mr. Bramall, when I get to heaven, I'm going to be looking for you to come. And I looked at him and I said, Oh, Mr. Weatherly, how do you know you're going to heaven? I wanted to hear his confession again. Oh, he looked up with a smile, and he said, I'm trusting the precious blood of Jesus. I said, bless your heart, I'll meet you again. Poor Paul's been waiting over fifty years for me to come. We'll make it. Never mind. But oh, there's no other way. No other way. And oh, how sad the lot of those that will die in their sin. Did not the Lord Jesus say to the Pharisees, In John's Gospel, if ye die in your sin, where I am, there ye cannot come. And oh, we can only say, sinners, who are we but saved by grace, through faith in the Lord Jesus, we shall be saved. And our names are in the book of life. But oh, what a chapter. So it doesn't come to me. Go to chapter twenty-one, please, very briefly. I want you to go with me quickly. If you have page number thirty with you, I hope you're thirty-one rather. I would like at least to begin and consecutively connect verse one through verse eight. I'd like to read it. regarding the eternal state. For this is the last prophetical thing that has to be completed, the judgment of the wicked dead before you come to eternity. And we read in verse one, I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away. There was no more sea, and I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for a husband. Thy heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. He will dwell with them. They shall be its people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. There shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. for the former things have passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me right, for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am all for an amiga, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is the first of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God. He shall be my son. But the fearful and the unbelieving, the abominable, the murderers, the hallmongers, the sorcerers, the drug addicts, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Now these words consist of a description of the new eternity, the new creation of the heaven and the earth. Look at your lesson sheet, let me read the opening paragraph regarding the eternal state. This portion of God's word describes the eternal conditions more than any other, that it is a continuation of the preceding chapter, is self-evident. The end of chapter twenty records the end of earth's history. closing with an account of the first act in eternity the judgment of the wicked dead. Will you please remember that in that judgment of the wicked dead, heaven and earth passed away. All the human history was at an end. And now in eternity, as we have noted in space, the wicked dead stand. And now when the judgment is finished, and God Please let me say this is the very final act. The very final act that the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man will perform in fulfilling the purposes of his Father relative to the universe and relative to sin and relative to angels and relative to human beings. Human beings will be in their eternal state. Angels will be in their eternal state. Human beings, many of them will be blessed in the new creation. Others will be in the doomed place that God has prepared for those that deny him. Holy angels, who never violate the will of God, will still be with him in heavenly glory. Unholy angels, Satan and of all of his hosts, consigned forever. in the lake of high with all the doomed dead. The whole universe will be cleared. Sin, death, hell vanquished and vanished. Thank God, because I'm going to have a new heaven, a new earth. What a joy to realize. Please note, let me note the comment we have on verse one on your lesson sheet. The creation of the new heaven and the new earth. It is a definite act of divine creation. The present heaven and earth is the scene of God's theocratic display. But the new heaven and earth will be the scene of God's theocratic kingdom. Go back with me if you will please. To second Peter chapter three. I'd like to read some of the words of Peter regarding that new heaven and earth. Let's just read the words of Peter. I think they're very appropriate in connection with this. In fact, I've got a reference on your lesson sheet, the dissolution of it. Second Peter, chapter three. And we have Peter telling by the Holy Spirit, let's read the words very carefully. I'd like to read those verses, beginning, if I may, at verse, let me begin at verse ten. But the day of the Lord, and that's the coming of the Lord, in glory and power, and judgment to the earth, shall come as the people in the night, in the which. May I make a little comment, perhaps clarify the expression, what is the day of the Lord? I was just making a radio tape this week on that particular theme, the day of the Lord. What is the day of the Lord? Let me just give this definition. The day of the Lord begins by the judgments that come at the Great Tribulation. just before the Lord comes that we've been covering in the book of Revelation. It's a day of judgment. It's a day of darkness. It's a day of doom. It's a day of trouble, of trial, and of woe, terror, trouble of all kinds. And God's judgment are plaguing the human race. But the old expression not only includes that, but includes the kingdom. The day of the Lord goes right through the millennial kingdom. It's his day! He's going to reign. Before he reigns, he comes in power and glory to clear the earth of all of its sinfulness before he can take the throne of glory upon it. But it includes all our millennial kingdom. Now let me read what Peter says. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Now let me again go back to the premise that we made before. Coming events cast their shadows before. We live in the nuclear age, don't we? One of the greatest fears in the human family today is nuclear explosions. You know that. You get it in the news constantly. People are terrified what could happen. And yet God's not going to let man destroy the earth. He's going to do it himself. And all the atoms. And one is the nuclear explosion, but the explosion of the atoms. I think it was a scientist, a trained scientist of the past century. When man discovered the atom, he says, when he discovers the source of the atom and the speaker of the atom, he said, God will come in and say, gentlemen, that's enough. You've gone too far. Well, beloved, here we are. They've got the power to destroy the whole earth. God says, you're not going to do it. I'm going to do it. And if you happily, you've got a convulsive explosion of the present universe as we now know it, our present universe, of the sun, of the solar system of ours without question how much further I don't know. But you've got one mighty explosion. Mine, when you stop to think of it, Let me give you... Look, atoms hold everything together. Your body consists of atoms. Everything visible consists of atoms. The wood that we had before us, and the seeds that you're sitting upon, and all that material. It consists of atoms. And when the Lord Jesus was resurrected from the dead, one scientist told a friend of mine in California, when he was visiting California, he told me this scientist told him, he said, he said, oh, he said, when your God, your Christ, your Savior walked through the doors of the upper room, it was the God of the atoms walking through the atoms. And you know, that's the way God holds the universe together. We're reading Colossians chapter one, by Christ all things hold together. And it's God that's holding the universe together himself. Man isn't doing it. And all God has to do is let go. That's all he's got to do. Let go. His whole, the atoms will disintegrate. What a mighty explosion. Read what Peter said. And the elements will melt with fervent heat. The earth also and the worst that are therein shall be burned up. Oh, beloved, please let me say again, when Christ sits as the judge upon that throne before and the wicked dead before him, heaven and earth flees away. This is what it would be. But let me go on reading quickly. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved. What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and governance? Looking for and hasting unto what? The coming of the day of God. Now let me give another explanation. We mentioned the day of the Lord, haven't we? Coming to rain. and going to the thousand years, to the end, and the final judgment of the wicked dead. Then come the day of God, when God will be all in all through that endless eternity. and coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and anew earth, wherein dwelleth or abideth vices. Now, I wish I was already living in a perfect place and in a perfect condition. How about it? But someday we will, who were his saved by grace, our new creation. Let's stop there. Better stop. I say, don't get paid for overtime. But oh, thank God for what we're going to, to realize and to see. This is where our God's going to bring us. All through the precious Son of His love who died to save us. Shall we pray? Oh, beloved Father, what can we say? It's comforting. It's encouraging. And tis indeed blessed to our soul to read what you're going to do. We thank thee, Father. Oh, can we not say, not only Father, but Son and Holy Spirit. For the whole Godhead has a part in all the purposes of God. And what a joy it will be from what we have been studying when the final fruition comes. We say with heart sincerely, even so come, Lord Jesus. Come indeed, take thy people home, fulfill that which is yet to be done, but God give us the grace and grant us the mercy and power to carry on the