149. Beginner Bible Course: the Revelation given by Jesus to John, Pt. 3 (Chapters 20-22)

EPISODE 149: Simple Bible overview:  THE REVELATION OF JESUS GIVEN TO JOHN, PT 3 (CH. 20-22)

For the roller coaster, right of chapters six through 19 chapters, 20 through 22, the last three chapters of the Bible are going to feel like a much more peaceful ride on perhaps the carousel chapter 20 opens with an angel, holding the key to something called the abyss. Satan is bound for 1000 years, that abyss is sealed up. So he can't deceive the nations any longer. It will be. After a thousand years, he'll be released for a time. During this thousand years, those killed come back to life and reign with Jesus. During these thousand years, they are priests and servants of God and Christ reigning with him, at least on the surface.

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00:00:47

It sure sounds like Jesus is going to return. As he promised to do that king thing, revelation says a thousand years that could be literal or symbolic. Remember God's outside of time. Peter wrote a day is like a thousand years to God and a thousand years like a day. So once again, we ask ourself, is this God speaking God time or our time this thousand year reign of Christ is termed. The millennium will Jesus literally reign on the earth and raise those who believed in God and Jesus to life terrain with him. I tell my students, imagine you go home for the summer from school I and a number of parents get together and say, let's build the most incredible playground for these kids.

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00:01:35

We love. So all summer long, we turned the 10 acre playground of our school into the greatest fun Fort playground you have ever seen. We can't wait to see our beloved children playing on it a day before school begins in the fall, a nasty, hostile demented man buys the property next door. He walks the property line next to the playground with a shotgun threatening to do bodily harm to any noisy kids who enter it, who enjoy it. So the school administration is forced to tell the kids we're really sorry, but you can't play out there till further notice.

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00:02:15

Now, imagine the day comes when that demented, nasty neighbors finally dealt with and moves away or is put away. Don't you think the parents who built that playground could hardly wait to see their kids playing on it. That's a pretty good word picture for what futurists believe will happen. Literally in our future, Jesus will return that demented deceiver, Satan, who took over God's playground, this planet, the playground he made for his beloved children will have been put away. And they're on the playground. This playground planet earth, God will let his kids really play.

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00:02:56

The old Testament. Prophets spoke of time like lions lying down with lambs. The desert blooming people treated with justice and mercy and walking humbly with God death and disease rolled back. So what's with that releasing Satan at the end of this millennium or thousand years, some would say, there'll be babies born during this time. Why would Jesus release Satan to deceive the nations again, probably to give those born during the millennium of choice, will they follow Jesus or rebel a choice like he gave Adam and Eve chapter 20, then introduces us to the next phase of the end of this story.

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00:03:42

The great white throne judgment we're told a book of life is opened and all people are judged. Every single person who's been given life and a soul stands before this throne, anyone not found in the book of life is thrown into this same abyss or lake of fire and death and Hades are also destroyed that abyss or lake of fire is God's description for hell. Anyone with a tender heart would ask, why would God do this? Hell is one teaching of scripture. I wish I could get rid of, but we can't scripture states that when God makes a soul, it is eternal.

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00:04:23

So what is God going to do with an eternal soul who will not turn to and love its creator? God like radioactive waste with an eternal half-life. We have to be stored somewhere. The writer CS Lewis wrote much on hell and he made several thought provoking statements. He said, the door to hell is locked on the inside. Not so much God keeping them in, but them keeping God out forever. He also said there are two kinds of people on this planet. Those who say to God, thy will be done. And those to whom God says die will be done.

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00:05:06

That metaphor of fire. Where does it come from? Jesus used the metaphor of fires, never going out and worms, never in a fire that never goes out is one that has eternal fuel and a worm dies when its food supply runs out. These are metaphors of the permanence of eternity. We've learned several other things about this final state in our study of the 66 books of scripture. One thing we learned was hell has different levels based on knowledge and rejection of that knowledge. We also know that nobody, exactly nobody will be able to accuse God of being unjust or on loving in being assigned there in 21 and 22, a new heaven and a new earth is described.

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00:06:02

The old earth passes away. We're told we will be with God and he will be with his people. And we will dwell together. During this time, there will be no death, no mourning or pain. There won't be tears. He will have wiped every tear from our eyes, tears and mourning and pain were old things, but he has made all things new. Jesus then describes a little bit more of what heaven will be like. It will be like a city, a bustling place of lavish community. John sees something like a new Jerusalem coming out of heaven from God. He describes it's precious construction.

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00:06:44

It's open gates. It's perfection. There's no temple in this city. God is the temple. There's no need for sun. God is the light. There's no night. There's a river flowing through it. And trees bearing 12 kinds of fruit. One every month. It will be abundant and rich and no longer under any curse. And best of all, God, the father and Jesus, the son of God will live in it. We will see their faces and there will be no end to it. This begs the question. What will this time eternity in this place? Heaven be like the apostle Paul answered that question.

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00:07:25

This way, unimaginable. He said, no eye has seen, no ear has heard. It's not even entered into the heart of man. What God has prepared for those who love him. One of my favorite stories is a little boy who came home one day to his mom. He was about seven. He said, mommy, what do you do on a honeymoon? She asked, why are you asking? Because my best friend, Billy's big. Brother's getting married to a girl and they're going on a honeymoon. What do you do on a honeymoon? Hot mommy. She smiled and said, why don't you ask daddy when he gets home from work tonight? When daddy got home from work, the little guy crawled up into his daddy's lap, gazed into his eyes and said, Hey daddy, what do you do on a honeymoon?

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00:08:10

Daddy was a bit surprised. Why are you asking? Because my best friend, Billy's big brother is getting married to a girl and they're going on a honeymoon. What do you do on a honeymoon, daddy? He said, well, sport, you take a girl on a honeymoon to a beautiful place. And you just spend time together has little guy said, daddy, can I take Billy on my honeymoon? His dad was brilliant. Well, little guy, if you find that special girl and you decide on that special place and go away to spend time together. If you want to take Billy on your honeymoon, you just go right ahead. Paul said, heaven will be our honeymoon with Jesus. And that it will be unimaginable.

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00:08:51

I think we've been twisted about what eternity in heaven is. We've been told, it's becoming angels with wings and sitting, playing harps on a cloud or singing praise songs for just ever like that's the complete package. Maybe I'm twisted. But to me, that sounds well, not so great, but why won't eternity in heaven? Be a lot like Eden in Genesis chapters one and two God is there. There's beauty everywhere. We have a job to do. We have relationships with others. We grow and discover. My guess is that new heaven and new earth will be a whole lot.

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00:09:31

Like the current heaven and earth revelation closes with Jesus' final words. It's a plea that ends this love letter from God. Jesus says this, the time is near. I'm coming quickly. These things I tell you are true. Come, come, come take the waters of life without costs. And don't add anything to this book of prophecy or take anything away. This is my revelation. My love letter to my kids. John responds Maranatha come Lord Jesus and closes with this statement. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all God wants all his kids back and he paid an enormous price to buy us back.

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00:10:19

Congratulations. You've just finished our cover to cover tour the Bible in 149 episodes, 78 episodes in the old and 71 episodes in the new, I just have one left the top 10 takeaways. My students want you to take away from the last 71 word pictures, the new Testament. And I'll give you those top 10 takeaways in our last wordpicture.