Transcription

Chris
So, Jeff, where did you guys go on your honeymoon when you get married?

Jeff
Uh, we had a three day honeymoon. Yeah, and we went to Flint and Detroit.

Chris
Okay, so mine’s just as bad. Uh, I wanted to go to Disney World or maybe even, like, go extravagant and go to, like, Tahiti, right? We had, like, seven grand back then, and instead we went to Toronto, Canada.

Jeff
Oh, that’s not as bad as Detroit.

Chris
You’re right. Yours is worse.

Jeff
Yeah, yeah. We went and saw The Phantom of the Opera in Detroit. It was on tour.

Chris
You win. Or I should say, you lose.

Jeff
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was bad. So, um. And then I’ve just been letting Bonnie down ever since.

Chris
Oh geez, oh geez. Yeah, well today we’re talking about the honeymoon.

Jeff
Yeah. So he’s Chris, and I’m Jeff, and we’re the Bible guys. So, Chris, you know how we want to bring the most important news to our people? Yes, we’re our listeners are committed to to to real news. So sometimes we read, you know, uh, important news from the Babylon Bee that they need to be updated on. But, hey, we wanted to bring a heartwarming story from the Babylon Bee. And you know that we believe that the Babylon Bee is as accurate as all the other news out there.

Chris
Yes, absolutely.

Jeff
So if you don’t know.

Chris
National Enquirer, all those.

Jeff
That’s right. So Babylon Bee is pure satire if you don’t know. But anyways, here’s the headline. The headline is this heartwarming dog finally reunited with owner who left for 30s to grab the mail. Isn’t that so true?

Chris
It’s so true.

Jeff
Dogs grieve when we walk out the door, it says in a touching scene, local dog Tex was overcome with joy after being reunited at last with his owner Tom, who had briefly walked outside to check the mail. Text hasn’t been this happy since the last time Tom checked the mail, said Tom’s wife, Allison. It’s like Homeward Bound all over again.

Chris
Jeez.

Jeff
According to Allison, five year old Tex had fallen into despair the moment Tom walked out the door. Tex packed all five stages of grief into about 10s, said Allison. He whimpered, hung his head and finally accepted. He may never see Tom again, but Tex stood faithfully by the door to wait for Tom and 20s later. It was the happiest reunion this world has ever witnessed. Oh, animal scientists have been amazed at the ability of dogs to overcome remarkable obstacles to reunite with their owners.

Chris
That’s so funny.

Jeff
There are so many incredible stories of dogs waiting years for their owners to return, or traveling hundreds of miles to find them, said animal researcher Doctor Megan Platt. Dogs, however, are just as elated about seeing their owners when they’ve been gone for two minutes to the bathroom. Dogs are amazing creatures, but also quite dumb at publishing time. Texted decided Tom was a magical wizard after Tom had appeared to throw a ball, but the ball disappeared.

Chris
Jeez, that’s so funny.

Jeff
Cat. So I love cats and dogs, but cats couldn’t care less that you leave, right? And when you come back, they’re like, oh, you’re back. Could you give me something to eat?

Chris
Right.

Jeff
That’s it. Yeah, but dogs are thrilled to see you.

Chris
Every day. When my cat looks at me, I feel like she’s saying you are mostly tolerable human. It’s just the way it is. Right. So. And I always say this comment, I always say like, when we get married, I want, I really want a dog’s. Liz really wanted cats. So we compromised and we got five cats. So that’s what we did. Yeah. And then and then we had five cats, which by the way, is like three cats beyond socially acceptable.

Jeff
Yes, exactly.

Chris
And then

Jeff
You’re a cat lady and then four

Chris
And then finally, finally they’re dying off. Oh. And so I’m now down to three.

Jeff
Okay.

Chris
Yeah. And then one of them is pretty old too. Okay. And so, uh, and so. Yeah. So you’re almost acceptable again.

Jeff
I’m almost acceptable. Two cats are okay. Yeah.

Chris
And I told them we will not get any more cats. Yeah. So I mean, you know, I love my cats a lot. Uh, I really do. I, I’m a cat, dad. I’m a big pet guy. I love all that. Uh, but I love dogs. I just don’t I just feel like I’m past dog time. Like. Like I don’t want to start the habit of walking the dog. And dogs need.

Jeff
You. That’s the problem with the dog. Yeah, right. You can throw some some kitty litter in the corner and throw some cat food in the other corner and leave them for a week. Yeah. And they don’t care.

Chris
Which but which we’ve done.

Jeff
Yeah. But dogs.

Chris
We’ve had had people check on them like once a day.

Jeff
Yeah, but dogs, they need you, you know, all day, every day. They’re dependent on you.

Jeff
So. Yep. Anyways, that’s a funny one. Our dogs do that, man. Our dogs will stand at the door and whine and we’re just outside the glass, you know, watering flowers in the front yard. It’s the dumbest thing, you know. And then when you walk in, they’re jumping around and it’s a party and they run and bring a toy back to to play. And, you know, it’s that that article is a true thing. It’s heartwarming. So, hey, uh, yesterday we talked about the marriage supper of the lamb, this big banquet. Right. The wedding of of Christ. And the church is really what this is about. And then here we are with what’s called the millennium. Right? So so give us an update. So there’s a lot of different views on the millennium.

Chris
Yeah, so, uh, some people think the millennium is, uh, not literal. And they would say that the millennium is something to summarize, uh, the life that we’ve already lived on the earth, that we’ve already lived out the millennium. And then some people believe that the millennium is a literal millennium, and it happens right when Christ comes in chronological order as sort of we’re addressing it. And then there are people who believe that the millennium comes, uh, earlier than that. Right. So, so there’s there’s a question on placement. Uh, there’s a question on whether it’s literal or not. Yeah. Uh, some people would say they don’t really believe there is a millennium at all.

Jeff
Right, so in the, in the, in the same way that people would talk about the rapture, there’s people that are pre-tribulation mid-tribulation post tribulation with regard. To the millennium. It’s all about when does the millennium happen and when does the Great White Throne judgment happen? Right. We’re talking about both those things today. So some would say the Great White Throne judgment happens before pre millennial. Some believe that it happens post millennial. Some would say it’ll say are millennial. Meaning I don’t believe a millennium is going to happen. And to be clear we’re going to read about it. But a millennium is just it’s a thousand year reign of Christ is what this is, right? A millennium is a thousand years. So anyways, the Bible does talk about it, and it talks about it directly after the marriage supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19.

Chris
And it literally says that Satan’s bound for a thousand years.

Jeff
Yeah, so here we go. Let’s read about it. Yeah. So right after verse ten of revelation 19 is where the marriage supper of the lamb ends, and the verse 11 it says, then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and true free judges fairly, and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire in his head. On his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses, and from his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God the Almighty, like juice flowing from a wine press. On his robe at his thigh was written the King of kings, and the Lord of all lords. And then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting. The vultures flying high in the sky. Come, gather together. The great banquet God has prepared. Come and eat the flesh of the kings, generals and strong warriors. Didn’t we already read this passage?

Chris
Yeah, but but it goes on. Yeah. We were reading more.

Jeff
Of horses and their riders and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great. Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and on his army. And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet, who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast, miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fire lake of sulfur. Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse, and all the vultures gorged themselves on the dead bodies. So this is where he defeats.

Chris
Yes.

Jeff
The Antichrist. And then it picks up immediately in chapter 20, which is maybe where we could have started. It says, then I saw an angel come down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand, and he seized the dragon, that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan, and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked, so Satan could not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years were finished. Afterward, he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge, and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus, and for proclaiming the Word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. This is the first resurrection. The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them, the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years came to an end, comes to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison. He will go to deceive the nations called Gog and Magog in every corner of the earth, and he will gather them together for battle, a mighty army as numberless as sand along the seashore. And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth, and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them. Then the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the fire lake of burning sulfur, joining the beasts and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Chris
Hmm. So, wow.

Chris
So it’s very clear that the thousand years of of celebration and of peace is because Satan is is, uh, captured and thrown into captivity. That’s right. And then and then they said he’ll have to come out a little while, but he comes out and then he tries to rebel. Yeah. And then he loses. Yes. Ultimately.

Jeff
That’s right. Right.

Chris
And so that’s why people believe in a literal thousand years of peace and prosperity. Because it describes this, you know, because, you know, think about it. If, if a and this is just, you know, makes sense to me. This is just one opinion. But if, if, if the millennium refers to a life already lived. Right, uh, Satan had not been bound for a thousand years.

Jeff
That’s right, that’s right.

Chris
So, so that’s really the big indicator as to an actual literal millennium. Right.

Jeff
And then it seems to talk about those people that were already believers. It talks about those who were martyred during the tribulation are raised from the dead. But those who died during the tribulation were not right. They were not brought. They’re not going to be brought back to life until the Great White Throne judgment at the end of that thousand years. But then Satan does get loosed, right? And he goes out among the nations, and he leads a bunch of people astray. And then the nations turn against Jesus again. This is a second time that humanity turns against Jesus, and it’s because Satan is so slick, he’s so compelling, and he gets him. So the question is, who are these people? Hasn’t everybody already trusted Christ? So I think that the answer there would be, these are the people who were born during that thousand years. Right? So these are people who had not yet made a choice to receive Christ or reject Christ. Right during this time. And so those people, it’s not believers that had that turned against Christ. It’s not the the martyrs that turn against Christ. They’ve already died for him. Right. So who else is it? It’s the people who were born during that thousand year millennium. Everybody. Everybody is going to face a moment where Jesus said, remember when Jesus said to Peter, who do people say I am? He said, oh, some people say, you’re a prophet. Some people say that you’re, you know, John the Baptist raised from the dead. And Jesus goes, great, now who do you say I am? Every one of us is going to have to stand in front of Christ and determine who is he to us? And you don’t get in based on Mom and Dad’s belief system. You don’t get in based on on your friend’s belief system or whatever, and you don’t just get in because God just decides to let you in. You get in because you determine that to you, Jesus Christ is the son of the living God. Right? Right. And so I think that it’s those people that are the ones who actually Satan is able to tempt and pull away.

Chris
A thousand years is a long time.

Jeff
Yeah. It’s a lot of kids.

Chris
Yeah, yeah. I mean, look at our population increasing, uh, just just in our lifetime. Yeah. Right. Right. By billions.

Jeff
Right.

Chris
Yeah.

Jeff
So that’s that’s it. And then he finally he defeats Satan for the final time. Right. So firstly, he had beaten the Antichrist and the and the false prophet.

Chris
Yeah.

Jeff
And now I love how it describes, you know, that that old dragon, that old serpent, that Satan, the devil. Right. And he defeats him. And then after that, all those that had died during the tribulation, they are raised from that. Everybody now, every human that’s ever lived goes and stands before the Great White Throne judgment. This is different from the judgment seat of Christ. The judgment seat of Christ is just every Christian. But the Great White Throne is every human. Remember, there’s a time when Jesus says that God’s going to sort out the sheep from the goats, right? That’s this time.

Chris
That’s this time.

Jeff
Right?

Chris
And just to be clear, this is the very next verse from the passage we just read. Yeah. So we literally read everything in sequential order, all.

Jeff
Of chapter 19.

Chris
Chapter 19. Well, 11 to 21.

Jeff
But we had read the the marriage supper the day before.

Chris
Oh yeah. Yeah, the day before I was talking about today. Yeah. And then and then this, this complete, this will complete all of revelation 20. Yeah.

Jeff
And so he says in verse 11, and I saw a great white throne, and the one sitting on it, the earth and the sky fled from his presence. And they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and the death and the grave gave up their dead, and all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. And this lake of fire is the second death, and anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Chris
Mm. Jeff Oh.

Chris
There it is. And the great White Throne judgment. It’s not a feel good moment for for people who don’t know God, for lost people. Right. And, uh, and so we’re going to really get into that tomorrow talking about heaven and hell and a little bit more tomorrow. So we’ll save that part for that. But, but, but the idea that the great White Throne judgment, uh, is referenced and it is real and it is the time where you’re going to be so, so we believe that this is this is the time that is referred to in the New Testament where he says, depart from me, for I never knew you. Yeah. Right. Right. So we stand in front of God and they says, God, I’ve prophesied in your name and I’ve, I’ve done great things. And then God says, depart from me, for I never knew you. So those who even think they know about God, or they’ve heard about the things of God, and yet they’ve not put their trust in Jesus Christ. Uh, we’ll get to heaven assuming that they’ve been around religion enough. And this is the moment at the Great White Throne judgment where God says, no.

Jeff
Yeah and this is also where Jesus says that God will say, well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into my rest, right that I’ve prepared for you. So you have the the sheep and the goats being separated, the sheep being followers of God, the goats being pretenders.

Chris
The wheat and the chaff.

Jeff
Yeah, the wheat and the chaff that Jesus talks about. So in this situation, then, just to remind you as you read through this, we’re not saved by deeds. We talked about that in, uh, Ephesians chapter two yesterday. But deeds are seen as clear evidence of a person’s relationship with God. Right? James tells us that faith without works is dead. You can claim to be a Christian, but if you’re not living for God, maybe you’re not. Right. So faith that works is dead. And it’s kind of one of those deals where in this situation, what he’s measuring is whether or not our name is in the book of life. Right, right. And and that our name being written in the book of life is because of placing our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. That’s the ultimate deed, right? So so we haven’t done any other work to get to heaven, but whether our names in the in the book of Life is all about whether or not our faith has been placed in Christ.

Chris
We had a traveling evangelist that came to our church one time. On a Sunday night, you know, in this little Baptist church. And he was talking about the book of life. Yeah, he was talking about salvation. And, you know, you can get saved today. And he says, just remember, he was talking about eternal security. Uh huh. He’s just remember when God writes your name in the in the Lamb’s Book of Life, he doesn’t have an eraser. That’s right.

Jeff
That’s what he does. Yeah. And there’s no eraser on God’s pencil.

Chris
That’s eraser on God’s pencil.

Jeff
He wrote it in Sharpie. That’s right. That’s it. Right. He wrote it. He wrote your name in the blood of the lamb. That’s right. That’s what he did. But yeah. So then he throws death in hell and the grave. Hades is is kind of included there. That hell thing thrown into the lake of fire. And then this is God’s judgment. Finished. It’s complete. And it says that those whose name is not found written in the Book of Life are also thrown into the lake of fire and the second death. So we’re going to talk about that tomorrow. But it’s the ultimate destination of everything wicked Satan, the beast, false prophet, demons, death, Hades, all those whose names are not recorded in the Book of Life because they didn’t place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And quite honestly, the book of revelation of all books, the Book of Revelation gives no room for middle ground. There’s no gray areas in this either your name’s in the Lamb’s Book of Life or it is not right. And that’s why it’s so important. This is why, if you’re either your name is in the Lamb’s Book of Life or it is not. This is why when the disciples say to Jesus in Acts chapter one, hey, tell us, are you about ready to come back? Jesus goes, it’s none of your business. I’m going to send you the Holy Spirit. Get to work. Tell everybody, because at the very end, the only thing that will matter about you, about the people you love, about all the people in the world is is your name in the Lamb’s Book of life or is it not? And there’s no gray area at that point. That’s huge.

Chris
Yeah. It’s. Yeah. It’s huge. Yeah. And uh, and you know what? It’s a great reminder that all of us should not be afraid to bring up spiritual conversations. Yeah. You know, it’s interesting because I think I referenced this so long ago on a daily podcast that I had a neighbor and he knew I was a youth pastor. And then after years, as we were cleaning up leaves in my front yard and he was helping me, he said, I have a question. Why have you never talked to me about God? And I was like, uh, because I didn’t want to be the weird, creepy neighbor who’s a religious fanatic. And he’s like, yeah, I sort of have wished. And I was waiting. For you to bring up God to me, because I’ve always wondered about it, and he just basically admitted and he didn’t say it directly, but he basically admitted that’s the reason why he hung out with me. It’s the reason why he was helping with the leaves. He was waiting for me to bring it up. And I think that oftentimes people don’t bring up God because it’s an uncomfortable subject for some people. Uh, they don’t like to think about those things. They push it off, or they have all these objections that they don’t want to really get into. And people have all this baggage attached to it. Uh, but at the same time, I think that most people deep down inside, uh, want to know which is which is why when I bring up, I bring up the question, by the way, I do this at every funeral unless the family requests that I don’t do it right. It’s my job to serve the family. And if they say, don’t do this, don’t do that. I’m like, hey, that’s fine. So they’ve chosen a funeral, you know, not like that. But for the most part, 98% of all funerals I’ve ever done, I spend my last 5 or 6 minutes with the exact same speech, literally verbatim. I can quote it to you right now. And I basically the intro to that is one sentence I say, I’d like to spend my last few remaining moments together by answering one simple question, which is this? How can any one of us know for certain that we can go to heaven when we die? How can anybody in this chapel have any confidence that that could actually be true? That’s what’s that’s where I start. And here. But here’s what I see. I see that at funerals people are there. And which is why I know it sounds strange, but I actually think that funerals are one of my favorite things to do. And it’s because of these reasons. Number one, I always give the gospel 98% of the time. Number two, I give it to people who most likely will never set foot in church. Right? Right. I mean, the these these are people who are forced, right, right, right. And then and then number three, I’m giving the gospel at a time when people are most receptive to it because they’re thinking about death and they don’t normally. Right. And then the fourth reason is kind of a strange reason. Uh, I actually think it’s a good on ramp to hear a pastor who, uh, is relatable in such things. Yes. Right. Because sometimes there’s pastors who get up and they’re just not the best representative.

Jeff
Right? Yeah.

Chris
And it’s like, people think that’s why I don’t go to church because of this, because of this guy. And you know, he’s talking about, you know, whatever. So I so anyway, the bottom line is, is here’s the point of that entire narrative is that when I say that intro question, how can anybody know for certain? How can anybody have any confidence that that could be true? I am not even kidding the people who are glazed over because we’re talking about Aunt Bertha’s, you know, uh, like of planting flowers. Finally, when I, when I asked that question, I see the eyes shift and even even the most, um, uh, like. Uh, non-typical person who would be in church to listen to you the hardest of, you know, the roughest grumpiest guys, right? Uh, they’ll they’ll look up and they’re like, wow, he really said that in a compelling way. And then they just lean in like, okay, what’s the answer? And I’m telling you it, most people want to hear about it. So anyway, I’ll just end with this thought. That was a long rant to say that all of us should have courage. All of us should understand what’s at stake, and all of us should understand the assignment that God has given to us, which is tell everybody you can right.

Jeff
At the Great White Throne. It’s not going to matter to us anymore. Was that embarrassing? Was it awkward? Right? Was I did I bring up a topic they didn’t want to talk about? Right? When God is sorting us out and we turn right and they have to turn left and we’re separated, the only thing that’s going to matter at that moment is I wished I’d spoken up. I wished I’d told them, right. Yeah, it’s going to be huge. And so, hey, everybody in your life, everybody you care about, is going to spend eternity somewhere. And you have the answer. So share it.

Chris
Well, that is a great place to wrap up. And we’re going to tackle, uh, heaven and hell tomorrow. That’s right. So, uh, hopefully we’ll see you then on The Bible Guys.