In the Word

Pastor Mike Warren: Revelation chapter 20. We’ve come that far. We’re almost done with the book of Revelation. When we’re done with Revelation, we’re going to pick up the Gospel of John. We’ll start there and work our way through the New Testament one more time. We’ll see how far we can get before the Lord returns, but we’re going to just try to get as far as we can. Amen?

So, let’s pray and then we’ll see what God has for us this morning. Get your pad and pen out. This is an interesting chapter. This is the conclusion. This is the period, as it were, that is put on God’s redemptive plan. You’ll see that in a few moments. Father, we thank you for your word this morning. It cuts deep into our hearts. It does its work like nothing else. It is sharp, it says even of itself, and powerful. It bypasses the human intellect. It bypasses the physical aspects of our life, and it will go right down into the very heart because the heart is always what needs to be transformed.

Faith cometh by hearing. Our hearts are transformed. We come to faith in Jesus Christ. We are born of the spirit. Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life because of the effectiveness of the word of God. Lord, we want you to know this morning we trust your word. We believe it’s inerrant, inspired, and authoritative. It says what it means and it absolutely means what it says. As we come to this 20th chapter, probably one of the most controversial ones for those that have bought into some other tradition of teaching about end times, we’re just going to take a look at what you have to say. Speak to our hearts this morning, not just our heads. We ask in the mighty name of Jesus. And again, all God’s kids would say: Amen.

As we came to chapter 17, it’s an interesting section because there we see in chapter 17 and chapter 18 God is judging the false religious systems of this world. In fact, he has some interesting things to say about it. He has some interesting ideas as he exposes it to us. He calls it the great whore because it has literally corrupted kings and made them drink of the wine of the fornication of the wrath of God. Let me explain because as we came to chapters 17 and 18, it’s the tale of two cities. Babylon, where mystery Babylon, the false religious systems of this world were given birth.

The interesting thing is they were given birth because man said, “We will build a tower to the heavens.” Every religious system that came out of mystery Babylon was based on man’s ability, man’s works, man’s thinking, man’s philosophy, man’s ideology. It was man-centered, not God-centered. In Genesis chapter three, God promised us that he would send a Messiah, a savior of the world, that he would crush Satan’s head and in the process bruise his heel. He would be born of the seed of woman. He would be God incarnate.

That’s what we believe as true Christians this morning. We believe in God our Father, creator of heaven and earth, that we are and were created to be his sons and daughters to be in relationship with God our Father. That’s why everything in the Bible is framed in terms of relationship: God the Father, his son Jesus Christ, the bride—we are the bride of Christ, he’s the bridegroom. It’s all relational. Satan always wants to offer a counterfeit. There’s something about the heart of man already because of the pride of the fall. We inherited that fallen nature because Satan introduced pride into the world when he listed those five “I wills” we see in Isaiah chapter 14. “I will raise my throne above the throne of the Most High. I will, I will, I will.”

That’s the great lie because, really, what could you do to fix the condition of your life? You were conceived in sin, King David said. You were born in transgression. You came in with a sin nature. You proved it later by the things that you did, and the wages of sin is death. You were dying, I was dying, and it wasn’t just a physical death. It was a spiritual death. So when we came to chapters 17 and 18, we see God judging the false religious systems of the world that had based their whole premise on man’s performance and not on what Jesus Christ has already done for us.

Let me just read you a verse in contrast in Hebrews. I find Hebrews to be the most interesting book in the New Testament for me. When I was in Bible college, our professor said it was the bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament, and it really is. It’s where the Old Testament, where the gospel was concealed in the Old Testament, comes alive as it were as he’s bridging this gap. The very first chapter is very interesting to me. I remember one of our assignments was to do chapter analysis to break it out and to make the points.

The very first chapter is very interesting to me. Again, mystery Babylon is being laid aside for Jerusalem—the tale of two cities. The city of our King. The place of the birth of our Messiah. The place where he preached the truth. The place where he cried out before his crucifixion. The place where he ascended, where he said, “I am the only way. I am the only truth. I am the only life. No man goes to the Father but by me.” There’s only one name given among men where you must be saved. It’s the name Jesus Christ. All others are fakes and phonies. Jesus said, “I’m the door,” and the thieves are what crawl over the walls. There’s so much of this today. 4,200 religions today are based on man’s work. One is based on what Jesus has done, and it’s not a religion. It’s a relationship.

There are three pairs of this where God deals with this false religious system. Isaiah 13 and 14, and then we’re getting close to the end of the book of Jeremiah. We’ll look at it again in chapters 50 and 51 where God pronounces a judgment on the false religious systems of this world. You remember the Bible tells us that the spirit of Antichrist has already gone out into the world. I’ve reminded you over and over that the term Antichrist does not mean “against Christ.” It means “instead of Christ.” It’s always a counterfeit. Satan always offers a counterfeit. He’s offering the world today a counterfeit. Religion is a counterfeit.

Jesus didn’t come and die to make bad people good. That’s religion. Jesus came and died to make dead people live. Jesus came and died to bridge the gap. As Job put it, he puts his hand on God and puts his hand on us and brings us into a relationship with the Father so that we could be born of the spirit, that Jesus could literally live in us. That’s what it’s about. So here’s the key to it all in Hebrews chapter one. It says in verse one, “God, who at sundry times, different times, and in diverse manners, in different ways, he spake in times past, God spoke in times past to our fathers by the prophets.”

We’re studying one of those prophets. Jesus said that he sent many prophets early to speak in his name to his people, yet they didn’t listen. He spoke through the prophets. Now watch this in verse two. “But hath in these last days, the last time he’s going to speak.” The last time he’s going to speak obviously is a reference to the book we’re studying because the book of Revelation is not God inspiring man like he did the other books of the New Testament to put pen to paper under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and record God’s words. Literally, Jesus is telling John what to write. This is from the heart and mouth of our Messiah to the pen and paper that was in the hand of John.

This is a dictation. Jesus told him, “Write these things and send this to the seven churches so they will understand.” So he “hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom he made the world.” He is the creator. “Who being the brightness of his glory, the express image of his person, upholding all things by the word of his power.” Now watch this next verse. “When he by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of Majesty because the work was done.” How many are in Christ Jesus this morning? Then the work is done. Who did the work? He did.

Whosoever would call upon the name of Jesus shall be saved. That’s the message. I’ve had people come here and say, “Well, when I get my act together...” Well, good luck. I was never able to get my act together. In fact, it got worse. When you try to get your act together, it gets worse. You just keep digging the pit and you keep making the promises you can never keep because no flesh will be justified by the works of the law before a holy God. Our message this morning is that God the Son stepped out of this place in glory and took on the form of a human being and suffered and died for our sins, and rose again the third day.

We believe that our Messiah was the second person of the Godhead, the eternal word, and that through that word all things were created. We believe that he was willing to humble himself as Philippians chapter two tells us and take on the form of a man. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit. He was born of a virgin. He lived a sinless life. He died on Calvary’s cross a substitutionary death for our sins. He paid the penalty and removed any ill will the Father had toward those who come to faith in him. He did it all. He took every transgression that I’d ever committed, the whole library of it, and he nailed it to his tree. He dares Satan to come and take one page of what was written against me off that tree. He blotted out those things that were written against me.

Our sins and iniquities he remembers no more. Why? By one sacrifice, Jesus Christ made us holy forever. It’s not a religious system. It’s what Christ has done. So by himself, he purged our sins. This is the gospel. This is the rock bed foundation of the gospel. You and I were sinners. We were on our way to hell. We were under the curse of the law. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. Jesus Christ came in the form of a man, died on Calvary’s cross to remove that from us, to bring his righteousness, to impute that to us, to give us justification. If you don’t know what justification means, it doesn’t mean “just as though you never sinned.” It means “just as though you never were a sinner.”

Jesus looks at you just as though you never were a sinner because that’s the truth of it. Religion can’t do that. Man can’t do that. Man can make bad people good. Man can make our society better. But only Jesus can save. Only Jesus can put your name in a book so when you step into eternity, you have a destination. Truly, chapter 20, if you’re a note-taker, is first of all the tale of two resurrections. Just like chapters 17 and 18 were the tale of two cities. It’s also a tale of two judgments. As we look at that, we need to be reminded because he’s judging the religious systems of this world, the Antichrist, the spirit of Antichrist. If you put your trust in anything but Jesus Christ this morning, you will be disappointed.

You and I this morning have had God’s righteousness imputed to us. Read Romans 4. It was given to us. Because of that righteousness by faith in Christ Jesus, we become the righteousness of God. Then we have given to us justification because the standard that we must meet to stand before a holy God is perfection, and God perfected you and me by the blood and spirit of Jesus Christ. We never can lose sight of that. Now, having been born of the spirit, should we do good works? Absolutely. Good works should follow. Having been born of the spirit, we should walk in the spirit so we don’t fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Those things are an indicator that we have been born again, but they’re not what causes us to be born again. Jesus did that.

I want that totally clear as we move into this chapter because there are a lot of religious people that are going to go to hell. There are a lot of religious people that have put their trust in human religion and in a man’s work. The reason I say that is because Jesus said it. Jesus said many will come to me on that day when I judge the living and the dead. That’s where we’re at in chapter 20. It’s the final moment. It’s the final judgment scene. Thank God the Battle of Armageddon has been won in chapter 19. All those armies gathered together to fight against God were gathered there in Megiddo.

Jesus shows up with us. He speaks the word. The blood flows to the horse’s bridle. He destroys the wicked. He plucks the Antichrist, he plucks the false prophet right out of the battle and throws them in the lake of fire. A thousand years later, that’s where Satan will end up. The battle is finished. But when we come to chapter 20, we have the judgment scene as the books are opened. They will be opened. The only thing that’s going to matter on that day is: Is your name written in the book? Indelibly in the blood of Jesus Christ. Is Jesus your Savior and your Lord? Have you committed your ways in life to him? Not to a religious system.

He says many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, haven’t we done all of these things in your name?” And then they’re going to list things, good things. That’s what’s so deceptive about it. Satan knows there’s something in the human heart, and it comes from pride, that you want to be considered to have done something for your salvation. Good things, not bad things. But his reply will be to those people, “Depart from me, you worker of iniquity. I never knew you.” You knew about religion; you didn’t know me. You gave your life to a movement, but you didn’t give it to the man Jesus Christ. You were a good person, no doubt, but I didn’t come to make bad people good. I came to make dead people live. That’s why I said when I was still here, “You must be born again.”

You must be regenerated by the spirit because if you’re not, Jesus said to Nicodemus, you can’t see or you’ll never enter into the kingdom of heaven. It’s simple. You come to Christ broken and saying, “I’m a mess.” I did this 50 years ago. I had to look up to see down. I was a mess. I was the mess under the barrel mess. Jesus didn’t pull me out of the pit; he had to dig under the pit to find me. He pulled me out and he washed me in his blood. He regenerated me by his spirit. He put his word in my heart. He placed me on a sure foundation. He wrote my name in the Book of Life indelibly in his blood, and he promised me, “I’m coming back for you. Just stay the course.” And that’s what I intend to do. Amen?

Okay, that’s just the introduction. Let’s get into it. Now watch how John says these things that he saw. So many of these things he sees. But it is a tale of two resurrections. Listen, I want you to know this morning if you’re not saved, you’re still going to experience a resurrection. There’s a resurrection to life and there’s a resurrection to damnation, but every person is going to be resurrected from the dead. So it’s a book of two resurrections and it’s also a book of two judgment seats. Even us Christians are going to stand before a judgment seat—the Bema seat judgment of Christ. Then the unsaved, a thousand years after the millennial, are going to stand before the Great White Throne judgment. Every one of us are going to stand and give an account for our lives. We as Christians not for our sin, but we still have to give an account for how we lived in light of truth, in light of the work of the spirit, and in light of the gospel.

We’ll look at that in a few moments. Let’s read. Sometimes we get in our heads that Jesus and Satan are in this great battle. Satan is pretty powerful. Verse one, chapter 20: “And I saw an angel.” Not Michael, not Gabriel, not a mighty angel. We’ve seen that mentioned many times in this book. But a buck private, run-of-the-mill, standard rank-and-file angel. So common of an angel that there’s no title in front of his name. Just an angel. “I saw an angel come down from heaven having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold,” grabbed up by the neck, “the dragon, the old serpent.” The word serpent there has the connotation of the one who tempted Eve in the garden. The tempter. The devil.

That word devil means the accuser of the brethren. Do you know that Satan stands before God even to this moment and accuses you and me day and night before the throne of God? But Jesus stands up and says, “Washed in the blood, forgiven.” “Did you see Pastor Mike in traffic the other day?” Yeah, we saw it. How could you not see it? But forgiven, washed in the blood. “Well, he calls himself a pastor.” No, he didn’t; I did. I did that. So if you’ve got a problem with him, you’ve got a problem with me. He’s just my servant; I put him in that position. “Well, why doesn’t he act like that?” Because of you. But one day he will be perfect and he won’t get mad in traffic anymore because I’m going to let him travel at the speed of thought. There won’t be anybody in his way anymore. I’ll get him on the other side of this thing.

The accuser of the brethren. And then Satan. The word means adversary. We don’t wrestle in this life of flesh and blood; we wrestle against principalities and powers and a host of evil wickedness in high places. We have an adversary who’s come to steal, kill, and destroy. Who’s come to deceive, who’s come to always offer a counterfeit. That’s why we need to be born again so that God would give us wisdom. Watch what he does to Satan. “And he cast him into the bottomless pit and he shut him up with a seal.” This word for seal is the same word we see in Ephesians chapter one where it says you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise unto the day of redemption.

It’s the same word you’d have for the 144,000, those special evangelists, those Jewish people from 12 tribes, 12,000 that were sealed during the tribulation period. When we get to the end of the tribulation period and they’re all standing there on the mount of Jerusalem, Mount Zion, there’s still 144,000. Not one was lost. God’s not going to lose you either if you’re sealed by the Holy Spirit. Satan can’t break that seal because this seal is put over his imprisonment. A seal was put on it that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years should be fulfilled. Six times in seven verses we have this word millennium or thousand years. Now, some will tell you that that’s just symbolism. It’s not.

When we return with Christ to set up his millennial reign, we studied this in Ezekiel, there’s going to be a temple that Jesus builds and for a thousand years the nations will come to worship him there. It will turn very Jewish again, but Jesus will be seated on the throne of David. There are indications in the scripture that David will be resurrected too and he might be the governor of Jerusalem, but Jesus will be the king. For a thousand years. And then we find this, and after it Satan must be loosed for a short season. Now we’re going to see this twice in this chapter: loosed for a short season. We know that when he’s loosed at the end of a thousand years, a great company of people follow him. Fire comes down from heaven and smokes them. Then the Great White Throne appears. Then a new heaven and a new earth after that.

Some have asked me over the years why, if Satan is bound in prison in chains with a seal he can’t break, why in the world would God ever let him out? Well, we’re dispensationalists. We believe that God throughout the history of mankind from the creation of man in the garden to the time he comes and sets up his kingdom, he’s dealt with man through dispensations. In fact, let me just read those to you real quickly if you want to put them down. The first thing he dealt with was innocence. Adam and Eve were placed in the garden, created by God in a perfect form. In fact, the glory of God was their clothing, the Shekinah glory. They were completely innocent, completely perfect until Adam ate of the fruit and they lost their innocency.

They were deceived to believe a lie and follow the serpent more than the Savior. So they lost their innocence. And so God said, “Okay, well your conscience will be your guide.” And then we know that Cain slew Abel, so the conscience cannot govern man. Don’t live by your conscience. Your conscience can be seared, your conscience can deceive you, your conscience can betray you, your conscience can justify things that should never be justified. So he moved from conscience to human government. He sent prophets, he sent priests, he sent judges. Samuel was one of those judges. And how well did that work out? Not so good.

Then he sent the law. They said, “Put it in writing.” Remember Mount Sinai? “Moses, go up, get it in writing, bring it down, and we’ll do it. The problem is you never put it in writing. If you put it in writing, we would do it.” And how did that work? Moses is up getting it in writing and they’re already worshipping a golden calf in a drunken orgy. The law can never constrain somebody. And so then he says, “Okay, we’ll send Jesus Christ, full of grace and truth, and we’ll offer you salvation through grace. Just come and receive. We’ll do the work for you.” And yet how many people don’t come and receive that? And then the last one will be Satan is bound for a thousand years. People will say, “Well, it was Satan’s fault. If Satan wasn’t here, then I wouldn’t have done the things I’ve done. The devil made me do it.”

And he’s going to say, “Well, I bound him for a thousand years. In the thousand years, you still rebelled.” The point to dispensationalism, the point to this passage in scripture, is to prove one thing: the heart of man is desperately wicked. What has to be dealt with is the heart. Only God can transform a heart. You can change your mind—that’s called repentance, metanoia, turning and going in the opposite direction—but only God can change the heart. It’s with the heart man believes unto salvation. The great commandment when Jesus was questioned about it was, “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart.” The heart of the matter has always been a matter of the heart. You can’t legislate it. Your conscience can’t control it.

A wicked heart will always refuse God’s grace. Satan can even be bound because what has to be dealt with is the human heart. God promised to those who come to Jesus he would pull the heart of stone out. He did it for me. I’m telling you, I felt it, I experienced him literally taking my hard heart out of my chest and putting a heart of flesh in. I knew it the day and the moment I got saved. I knew it the next day. He did for me what I could never have done for myself. My righteousness is in him. He restored my mind. He gave me wisdom, the hagiographa of God. All of those things came. So God is giving man every opportunity so that when man stands before him, mankind, there will be no excuse. If you find yourself, as we’re going to see this morning, in the lake of fire, you will find yourself there because you chose to go there and you chose not to allow God the Father through the work of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit to change your heart.

So he’s going to be loosed for a short season. And then John says in verse four, “And I saw thrones.” Now, this is very important. “And they that sat upon them and judgment was given to them.” Now, who is this? Well, let’s read about who this is. This is you and me. This is the Church. In fact, when Paul is writing to the church at Corinth in his first letter, there’s a lot of infighting going on—people suing, taking each other to court, just stuff that should not be going on in a church. So he writes to them in chapter six in a verse two and three. He makes two statements at the beginning of each one of these verses. He said, “Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world?”

Don’t you understand one of these days Jesus promised if you overcome, you will be seated on my throne as I’m seated on my Father’s throne? Do you understand our future is to rule and reign with Christ? Our future is to wear the Stephanos, to be seated on thrones and be wearing that white garment, purposed, and we’re going to judge the world. It’s our testimony that’s going to condemn the world. And then he goes on in chapter six verse three and he says, “Know you not that you’re going to judge angels?” In fact, in Revelation 3:21, this is where it comes from: “To him that overcometh I will grant him to sit with me on my throne even as I also overcame and am set down on my Father’s throne.”

So John is seeing the faithfulness of the Church. John is seeing those that have committed their ways to Christ. John is seeing that those that follow the Lamb wherever he goes one day will be seated with the Lamb on his throne around the Father’s throne with the Stephanos, the victor’s crown, clothed in white raiment. Can you imagine? This is our scene. And then it says this, “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 or the beast system or this Babylonish false religious system.” They didn’t put their trust in that, did not worship the beast, neither did they receive the mark of the beast in their forehead or their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for this thousand years.

But the rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years was finished. This is the first resurrection. And then he’s going to tell us, “Blessed are those who part of the first resurrection because the second death has no power over them.” What’s the second death? When the Bible speaks about death, it doesn’t talk about clinical death. Some of you are nurses, I sat next to a doctor at the reception at Jesse and Emma’s reception and I found out he was the guy that sewed up my thumb when I cut it off with a table saw a number of years ago. We had a good conversation.

But if you go to a hospital and your brain stops functioning, they consider you clinically dead. They can keep your heart pumping and your lungs working for a while, but you’re dead. That’s what we think of death, when this body ceases to function. That’s not the biblical term for death. The biblical term for death is separated from God. We’ve never been that, even if you’re not a believer this morning and not come into relationship with the Lord, you don’t know separation because the Holy Spirit is still working on you. Jesus is still trying to call you to himself. You just gotta listen. But one day if you reject that, as we’re going to see, you will be cast into the lake of fire.

If you accept that, you’re part of the first resurrection when we go to our Father’s house. This is what Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me because in my Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I go away to prepare a place for you, and when it’s done, I’m coming back to receive you unto myself.” That’s the first resurrection. That’s the resurrection you want to be a part of. We don’t want to be a part of the second. Verse six, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. On such, the second death, separation from God, it has no power over him, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and they shall reign with him a thousand years.”

And when the thousand years is expired, then Satan will be loosed again to try men’s hearts for a short season. But this is how short the season is. Let’s read on, verse eight. “And they shall go out and deceive nations which are in the four quarters, north, east, south, and west, of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle.” You know what stupidity is? Repeating the same thing hoping for a different result. How stupid can you be to think you can fight against God? Didn’t they learn that a thousand years earlier at the Battle of Armageddon? It doesn’t work out so well, does it?

And it says the number of whom is as the sands of the sea. A lot of people. “And they went up on the breadth of the earth and they compassed the camp of the saints about.” They thought not only were they going to take care of the Lord, they were going to take care of those who serve him. “And the beloved city, and fire came down from God out of heaven and smoked them.” Like, they’re knocking on your door to do ill and poof, ash. Okay, thank you Jesus. I will be at your house next Sabbath to worship you for sure. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire. We have over 20 times in the New Testament this terminology, the lake of fire. We have 12 times Hades or Hell or Gehenna mentioned, and out of the 12, 11 of them come from the mouth of Jesus warning us.

There is no annihilation because he goes on to say they will be cast in the lake of fire that burns with brimstone where the beast and false prophet are. They’ve already been there for a thousand years. Now notice, they’ve been there for a thousand years. They got cast in at the Battle of Armageddon. It doesn’t say where they were, like they got smoked there and died. It says where they are. They are still experiencing the torment of this place a thousand years later when their leader Satan is cast in with them. The Bible describes it as a place of eternal torment, wailing and gnashing of teeth, where the fire is not quenched, the worm dieth not. It is a place of absolute darkness.

Some would say, “Well, how could a loving God send anybody to that place?” Listen, he didn’t. Do you understand that this place was never created for human beings? You know what was created for human beings? Heaven. Relationship with God when he would come down in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the evening and fellowship with man. Hell was created for the fallen angels. But if you commit the same crime and you choose, and by the way, this is choice because the Holy Spirit is here today working on hearts, going out through those airways on all the different platforms and working on hearts, calling you to repentance, calling you to faith, calling you back.

He makes it so easy. If you’ll just come, I will forgive you. I will heal you. See, that was the great cry in the Old Testament and it’s still applicable today. “If my people who are called by my name would humble themselves and pray, seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I would hear from heaven, I’d heal your land.” He doesn’t mean fix it politically; he means fix it spiritually. The problems we have in our nation—abortion—you can’t legislate that because it comes from a wicked heart. You have to change the heart. Murder—you can’t legislate murder. As far as I know, it’s illegal in this nation and it’s still happening. But if God changes the heart.

I was a very hateful young man, bitter young man. When I was born of the spirit, the thing that blew me away because I’m talking to myself now because I was an extreme introvert—I didn’t like people. I didn’t like people. I could only do so much people a week and then I had to shut my garage door because I couldn’t people anymore. My friends were there— I had a few couple friends—and if I just didn’t want to deal with them and I had my garage door open, I’m in there working on my race car or something, I’d just shut the door. They’d bang on it. “Go away! I don’t want to do any people today.” And bitter and angry at the entire world.

But Jesus changed my heart and all of a sudden I found out I like people! I like going to the potlucks and having all the old ladies hug me and kiss me on the cheek. I started liking it. And I knew God had changed my heart and I didn’t hate anymore. The fruit of the spirit is love. We hippies, we were all about love. We didn’t know anything about love. We didn’t know about love until Jesus came into our hearts. Chuck even tells the story, one time he was caught in traffic and there was a hippie van broke down in front of him and he had a funeral to get to and he had to get to the church and he’s getting all frustrated and mad and he’s shaking his fist at this hippie guy. He gets out of his van with his big peace sign and goes, “Peace brother man, peace. I’ll get it out of the way in a minute.” All of a sudden he realized that the very thing he was promoting, that guy had and he didn’t.

But it was a false peace because Christ comes to bring us a peace that passes all understanding. Amen? So he says that this devil will be cast in the lake of fire with the false prophet and they shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. And then he says, “And I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it whose face the earth and the heavens fled away.” You know, I had an older sister—thank God she gave her life to Jesus before she went to be with the Lord—but when I first witnessed to her, she goes, “Well, when I get to heaven, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.” Oh really? She died from brain cancer. She went to be with Jesus realizing she didn’t have her brain to give a piece of her mind to. Are you kidding me?

When you stand, if you’re a sinner, before a holy God, you’re going to melt away just like this. The heavens fled away and there was no place found for them. And then he says, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God.” This is the Great White Throne judgment seat and the books were opened. God keeps good records. Now, I want to clear up because people have asked me, why does the Bible say in Second Corinthians, let’s read it, chapter five verse 10, that we’re going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ? Well, notice very carefully. You and I are going to stand before the judgment seat of whom? Christ. The Great White Throne is the judgment seat of God the Father.

Now, let’s read this verse so you can understand it. You and I are going to give an account. Now, let me say this quickly because I don’t want to go… I want to finish this chapter because I can’t wait to get to chapter 21 next week. But know this, your life is currency. You’ve been given a certain amount of time, a certain amount of energy, and you find out as you get older, you start using up a lot of that stuff. Time too. Time, energy, a certain amount of talents, giftings from the Lord, abilities, resources, financial resources, physical resources—all of those things are currency given to you by God. Every good gift and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights in whom there is no variance or shadow of turning. Those were given to you to be used for his kingdom.

And so when we get to heaven as Christians, God’s going to say, “What did you do with what I gave you? Now, you’re saved because that was a gift. You don’t earn that. But you’re going to be rewarded or not rewarded for the things you’ve done here on earth.” Here’s what it says in Second Corinthians chapter five verse 10: “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” It’s called the Bema seat because that’s the judgment seat of Christ. It’s another term for that. “That everyone may receive the things done in the body.” Receive is the idea you’re going to receive a reward or lack of, according to what he had done whether it be good or evil.

Maybe this week God prompted you to witness to that person that you were at the counter there when you were getting checked out in B and C. And the Lord prompted you to do that and you didn’t do it. Well, you’re either going to receive or not receive. Or you did do it. Because it says now in First Corinthians, we’ll back up to the chapter earlier than that, chapter three verses 13 and 14: “Every man’s work shall be made manifest for the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire and the fire shall test every man’s work what sort it is. And if a man’s work abide,” if he’s done those things for Christ, “then he’s going to receive thereupon a reward.” If not, it goes on to say then everything will be burned away, but his salvation will remain.

So at the first resurrection when we’re taken out of here, sometime at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, Jesus is going to be seated on his throne and he’s going to say, “Hey, Pastor Mike. I called you to be a pastor. How faithful were you to my word? Did you tell them the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? In the hard times were you faithful, in the good times were you faithful? Did you remain my servant whether you liked it or didn’t like it? Did you tell them the truth? Did you point them to me? Did you do what I called you?” And I’m going to be like, “Lord, to the best of my ability.” And he will say, “Well done, thou good.” Not perfect, but you were a good… maybe for me, “Well done, thou good and okay servant. You did okay. Enter into your rest.”

And then I will be rewarded. That’s the whole idea of the jewels in the crown because we cast our crown at his feet. Every time we see him, we realize the crown he gave us we’re not worthy to wear because every ability, every good gift came from him. And so we’re just going to cast it at his feet and all of a sudden it’s back on our head again. They aren’t the name of a band, Casting Crowns. I think that would be a good name because you’re just constantly casting your crown at his feet. We’re going to be rewarded or not rewarded depending on how we use the resources of this life as a follower of Christ. That’s the first thing.

But what we see here is not the Bema seat judgment. It is the Great White Throne judgment. Make note of this as we read these next few verses because he says, “And then I saw the dead, both small and great, stand before God and the books were opened.” Last week, every foul thing that you ever did was destroyed. Dylan, I don’t even know—came to faith, stood up here and prayed to receive Jesus as his savior last week. Jerry, a month ago, everything you ever did evil, gone. God keeps good books. And every foul and evil thing—I didn’t, you know, people said, “Well, I had a couple of volumes.” I had a library. God didn’t have to destroy books; he had to burn down a library.

If you knew me before I was saved, you might not be here today. I’m so glad my wife never met me in my BC days. She’s heard stories and that should be good enough. You know the Bible says that it’s a shame to talk about the things that were done in darkness. My testimony, I was messed up and Jesus saved me. I was going to hell and he rescued me. And everything I ever did, and he knew it all, he wrote it down. When I gave my life to Christ, he destroyed it. But if you don’t give your life to Christ, everything you’ve ever done, when you stand before God at the Great White Throne, those books will be opened and you’re going to be judged out of those books.

It says, “So the books were opened and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.” So he’s going to look and say, “Hmm, name not written there. So let’s open the other books.” If your name is written there, there are no other books. They’re gone. Your sins and your iniquities I remember no more. Aren’t you glad for that? How many tried to burn that library down yourself? And you find out you can’t. But Jesus did. “And I saw the dead, both small and great, stand before God and the books were opened and another book was opened which is the Book of Life and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works.”

We’re judged according to our works for reward because salvation was a gift. They’re judged for the works they did, but there’s no salvation. Everything they’ve done is recorded. “And the sea gave up its dead that were in it. And death and hell gave up their dead which were in them. And they were judged every man according to his works. And then death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” And who—here it is, right here, this is the test and we’re going to lay this out for you this morning—this is the test. “And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Well, the question is then, how do you get your name written? For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever will believe in him shall not perish but have age-abiding life. It’s in the person of Jesus Christ. It’s in his forgiveness, his mercy, his grace. And so I’ll end this study by telling you again this morning, reminding you: it doesn’t matter what you’ve done. Listen, it doesn’t matter. We all had our manner of life in times past, right? In the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, pride of life—we all had it. So it doesn’t matter what you have done or who you did it to. Doesn’t matter what you’ve injected in your veins, snorted up your nose, inhaled in your lungs, or guzzled down your throat—doesn’t matter.

Doesn’t matter where you slept or who you slept with—doesn’t matter. Because God our Father stands willing to forgive you, cleanse you, destroy those ordinances written against you if you will come to faith in Jesus Christ. Because if you come to faith in Jesus Christ, he becomes the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He’s the only one that can do that. He did it for Dylan last Sunday, a month ago he did it for Jerry. He did it for a young person named Lucas Wednesday night in the youth group. Gave his life to Christ. Came here, I’m going to tell you, we were trying to figure out how we were going to deal with him because he was so foul-mouthed.

And you know what he said after he gave his life to Christ on Wednesday night? “Now God’s my Father. I guess I gotta change my act.” No, he will do it! But you allow him. Amen? When we get to heaven, if there were pearly gates and we’re standing there and Peter was to ask us, “Why should we allow you into his kingdom?” there’s only one answer. Look in the book. My name is written in the blood of Jesus. It’s because of what Jesus did. Amen? Hey, we worship Jesus. We worship him. You know, several times in Revelation we have John falling down because one of the elders shows him something, which was one of us—the Church is already there. John is seeing. And he says, “Don’t do that! I’m just one of you. Don’t, worship God!”

Listen, please, I’m just a man. I’m just the donkey that’s delivering the message. You don’t worship the messenger. Please don’t do that to me and don’t do that to any man. We don’t worship the messenger; we worship the message. And the message is about Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Lord, our soon-coming King. The one who wrote our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life—his book—indelibly in his blood. The one who procured a way that we be part of the first resurrection into eternal life. Blessed of the Lord forever in his kingdom. Amen? And that’s where we’re going. Amen? That’s where we’re going. Are you going there? How do you know? How do you know you’re going there? Because your name is written by the blood of Jesus in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Amen.

You know, the thing I hate… had to just… let’s get the worship team up here while I tell you why the thing I hate. Let’s go ahead and stand while I tell you why the thing I hate. I used to hate going to school because every time they would call the roll, my name started with W, so guess where I was at? At the end of the list. But I’m encouraged when I get to heaven because I think it’s going to start with the Zs because the first shall be last and the last shall be first. So my name will be called ahead of some of yours. Not at the last anymore. And we’re going to hear those words, “Come on in, the price is paid.” Not “Come on down, the price is right.” Come on in, my son paid for you.

You are bought with a price, not of silver or stone or precious jewels, but by the precious blood of my son. Come on in, sit down, we’re going to have a meal together. Amen? I told Dylan last week he can sit by me. Come on, let’s all sit in the same spot and then we can just tell about how good God has been. Amen? How good he’s been. I will not allow Satan today to ever deceive me to think that I earned anything. One of my favorite reformers, John Knox. I don’t know if you ever read about him. There’s a good book on him called For Kirk and Covenant. He’s my hero among the reformers, and as he was dying, he was struggling one night.

The fellow ministers gathered around, his wife was there, and they could tell that he was troubled all night long. And so when he woke up the next morning, one of his fellow ministers said, “Well, John, we knew that you were troubled that night. You were wrestling and talking. We couldn’t quite understand what you were saying, but what’s the deal?” He said, “All night long, the devil tried to convince me that I had earned heaven. And I fought him tooth and nail and kept telling him, ‘By the grace of God I am what I am, and you’re not going to deceive me to think that I’ve earned anything.’”

When I get to heaven, my statement will be that Jesus Christ died for my sins and I am forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ and I am renewed by the spirit of God and I had nothing to do with that other than be willing to open the door that he knocked on. That’s it. And I don’t even know how I did that, to be honest. I look back, I don’t even know how I ended up in that Bible study that night. I was on my way home to commit suicide, and somehow by the grace of God, I’m in a car with another dude I don’t even know, headed to a Bible study with other hippies that I had partied with. And God ripped open my heart. He didn’t knock on my door; he kicked it in.

He said, “Enough is enough. Are you done?” I’m done. “Are you really done?” I’m completely done. I’m so done if you can rescue this, you can have all of it. I won’t fight you for any of it. I was going to end it anyway. To God be the glory. We’re going to sing that song in heaven: great things he has done. I’ve just been along for the ride and it’s been up and down, but I know what the destination will be. Amen? Amen. Father, thank you for your word. May we never trust in anything but you. Our hope is in Christ Jesus, our salvation. There is no name given among men by which we must be saved than Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Son of the living God. Emmanuel, God with us. And we thank you that there is a way, but it’s not our way. It’s your way, it’s your will. And may we always conform to that.

I will not in this church allow a counterfeit gospel to be preached. We preach Jesus Christ and him crucified, and that’s enough. Simple but profound. Easy but complex. Free but cost heaven everything. We put our trust this morning in you, Christ Jesus, because we believe that you’re able to present us one day faultless before the Father with exceeding joy. Only you can do that. And so, Lord, we put our absolute faith and trust in you today. Use us, Lord, in these final moments to bring many to Christ so that they can be saved. And we pray these things in Christ’s name. And all God’s people would say: Amen. Hey, let’s sing this song.