Tonight we continue to study the doctrine of the last things, specifically the doctrine of the millennium. We've already studied the return of Christ, and next time, God willing, we'll be looking at the resurrections and the judgments. In between, we are looking at the millennium. And we saw before that there are different views amongst Orthodox Christian churches regarding this time period that is referred to here as a thousand years in which Satan is bound and Christ is ruling and reigning with his saints. And we've looked closely at two of the main views. We have looked at Amillennialism, as that is popular in Reformed churches today, And we've also looked at premillennialism, which is my understanding of this passage. And after looking at arguments for both of those views, we have begun an exposition of Revelation 20, verses one through 10. Last time, we went through verse three, so today we'll continue with verse four, and God willing, we will complete this section today. I want to read to us the section again. If you look in your Bible at Revelation 20, verse 1 says, Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshipped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until a thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. Over such, the second death has no power. But they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them. And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Now this passage is not a repetition of events revealed earlier in the book of Revelation. For nowhere else in Revelation is there prophecy of the resurrections that are revealed in verses four through six. And that's what we come to first tonight is this prophecy of the resurrections. If you look closely at verse four, it says, then I saw thrones. and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed." So in the previous chapter, we were told of Jesus Christ's return. After he returns, there are thrones. There are beings who are seated on these thrones to whom the authority to judge is committed. Now, these beings who are seated on these thrones are probably described in the rest of the verse as the saints who come to life and reign with Christ. The verse goes on and says, also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God. Notice what these saints were beheaded for. They were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus. So they were faithful in testifying to Jesus Christ, in witnessing of Jesus Christ, in spite of the threat of persecution and possible execution, which is what they suffered. That was the high cost they paid. for their giving witness to Jesus Christ. It says, they were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God. So it's the same idea. They were faithful to testify to the truths of the gospel. They proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ in a hostile world, and for that they were beheaded. It says in verse four that they came to life. Now we have to ask ourselves, what does this mean? That these ones who were beheaded, these saints who were beheaded came to life. If you go down in the passage, it refers to their coming to life as the first resurrection. Notice that in verse 5. It says, the rest of the dead did not come to life until a thousand years were ended. This, referring to what was described in verse 4, this is the first resurrection. So saints were beheaded and they died when they were beheaded and then were told that they came alive and that their coming alive then is referred to in verse 5 as the first resurrection. These saints who were martyred in the Great Tribulation represent all the Old Testament and New Testament saints who died prior to Christ's return. Because if you go down to verse 6, it really broadens out to include all the saints who had died. Because in verse 6 it says, and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. Over such, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years." So these saints who come to life and then reign with Christ for a thousand years, are not limited to the saints who were beheaded. It includes saints who were martyred in other ways. And it includes all the saints who had died previously in history prior to the return of Christ. Now, amillennialists interpret this in several different ways. Let me give you three different amillennial interpretations of the saints coming alive, this resurrection called the first resurrection. William Hendrickson, in his commentary on Revelation, says that this is the translation of the soul from this sinful earth to God's holy heaven. So he's saying it's the beginning of the intermediate state. It's after the saint dies, this coming alive, this resurrection, is the soul of the saint departing from the body, departing from the earth, and going to be home with the Lord. G.K. Beale, in his commentary on Revelation, gives the same interpretation. Augustine, who was the first Bible scholar to popularize the Amillennial view of this passage, taught, and many have followed in his footsteps, have interpreted this as spiritual regeneration. This coming alive of the saints, the first resurrection, he said, is when the unregenerate is regenerated by the Holy Spirit, is born again, is saved, is then converted to Christ, becomes spiritually alive, goes from spiritual death to spiritual life. He says that is what is being referred to here as the first resurrection, the saints coming alive. And then a third interpretation that was given in Beal's commentary, but he does not hold, is that it refers to sharing in Christ's resurrection. Every believer shares in Christ's resurrection. We have been crucified with Christ. And they say that this is what this is referring to. But various facts lead us to interpret this not as a spiritual resurrection, but as a physical, bodily resurrection of the saints. And let me give you some reasons for interpreting this that way. First of all, the immediate context. And context is king. When you're interpreting the scriptures, the first thing you want to do is look at the immediate context. What does the rest of the verse say? What does the verse that comes before say? What does the verse that comes after say? The immediate context is essential for interpreting any phrase in scripture. So the immediate context speaks of prior physical death. In verse four, it says that these individuals, these souls, had been beheaded. That's talking about physical death. So being that it just says that they suffered the physical death of being beheaded, then it would follow that when it talks about them coming alive, it's talking about coming alive physically. They already were regenerated long before they were beheaded, or shortly. It depends on the individual. But they were certainly regenerated before they were beheaded. They certainly shared in Christ's resurrection before they were beheaded. Then they were beheaded. Then it speaks of them coming alive. It's in context. We assume it's talking about physical resurrection of the body. Another reason for interpreting it this way is that most interpreters, including amillennial and postmillennial interpreters, recognize that the same words came to life refer to physical resurrection in verse 5. Look closely at verse five. The rest of the dead did not come to life. So the rest of the dead, that's the wicked who had died. Those were not included in the saints who have died. The rest of the dead did not come to life until a thousand years were ended. The only legitimate translation that's recognized by most interpreters is that it's talking there about the physical bodily resurrection of the wicked that will precede their final judgment. And again, context is king. Since these words come to life in verse 5, clearly referred to bodily resurrection, it would suggest that the same words in verse 4 mean the same thing. Something very significant needs to be communicated that the term is now being used in a different way if we're going to interpret the same wording in two different ways in two verses that come together. Another reason for interpreting Revelation 20 to be speaking about the physical resurrection of the saints is that the words came to life refer to physical resurrection in various passages. This is a usage, a meaning of these words come to life that is found elsewhere in the New Testament. For example, in the same book, Revelation chapter 2 verse 8, we read, And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write the words of the first and the last who died and came to life. Who is that? Jesus Christ. He's the one who's writing, speaking this letter, giving this letter to the churches, and he's identifying himself as the first and the last, the one who died and came to life. There, came to life refers to Jesus Christ's bodily resurrection. That's understood by all interpreters. So the words can have that meaning. And I would say they do have that meaning in verse four of our text when it says that the saints came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. They came to life in the same sense that Jesus came to life on the third day. And then my last reason for interpreting this as a physical resurrection is that in the New Testament, the word resurrection almost always refers to physical resurrection. I didn't verify it, but what I read in the commentaries is that this word resurrection which is the Greek word that we based the name of our newborn daughter upon, Anastasia, comes from the Greek word Anastasia, resurrection. That word occurs over 40 times in the New Testament. Almost every time it refers to physical, bodily resurrection. That's the standard meaning. That's the usual meaning. If it's going to mean something different, it's going to be obvious in the context it means something different. So for all those reasons, I interpret Revelation 20 verse 4 to be prophesying the resurrection of all the saints who have died, a resurrection that will occur after Jesus Christ comes again. Now, notice what happens to these saints who come to life. It says at the end of verse 4 that they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Now, it may not be speaking about a literal, exact, precise 1,000 years. That can certainly be a round number. But certainly speaking of a long period of time. Just think about that length of time, 1,000 years. That's much longer than the Antichrist's reign was. His reign during the Great Tribulation is spoken of in the Book of Revelation as lasting for 42 months. One thousand years is longer than anyone has ever lived on this earth. Methuselah lived longer than anybody else in biblical history. And he lived, I think, 969 years. So this is a long period, a thousand years. that we're told that the saints will reign with Christ after they have been raised. Now this reigning of Christ that all of us who are believers will participate in, this reigning with Christ will be the fulfillment of various passages. Turn over to Daniel chapter seven. All the way back in the Old Testament, The reign of the saints with the Messiah was prophesied. It's a glorious truth that we need to ponder now, to reflect upon, to appreciate. Daniel 7. In the middle of the chapter, we have the prophecy of the son, one who appears like a son of man. It's the Messiah. His coming in power and great glory is prophesied here, which is his second coming. And if you go down to verses 25 and following. We now, in verse 25, we have prophecy of the Antichrist. It says in verse 25, He shall speak words against the Most High. He shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law. And they shall be given into His hand for a time, times, and half a time. But the court shall sit in judgment, and His dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end. And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. Their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them. That language about the kingdom being everlasting kingdom is very similar to the terminology back in verse 14 about the Son of Man. It says, His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and His kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. But as the passage goes on, it amplifies upon the reign of Christ. And here in verse 27b, we see that the saints will reign with the Messiah. The terminology in verse 27 is even that the kingdom will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. Their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom and all dominions shall serve and obey them. An amazing, amazing prophecy. that the saints, sinners saved by grace, unworthy sinners, saved purely by the grace of God on the basis of Christ's finished work for us, that we would have a place in Christ's kingdom, that we would rule and reign with Him That is grace. That is amazing grace. And what that will be like, we can only imagine. We've not experienced anything like this before. In the notes, I give you other passages in the New Testament that refer to this very thing. 1 Corinthians 6, verse 2. The context is that the saints are not to sue one another, that we can settle these disputes between members of the church within the church. We don't have to go to the secular courts to settle these things. 1 Corinthians 6, 2, or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to trial trivial cases? So this fits with what Daniel was prophesying of the saints ruling with the Messiah. Here, the Apostle Paul says that the saints will judge the world. And then at the beginning of the book of Revelation, chapter two, verses 26 to 27, in one of the letters to the seven churches, We read, the one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my father. There are other portions of scripture, including in Revelation, that speak of the Messiah ruling the nations with a rod of iron. We see that in chapter 19 in the description of his return. It's all the way back in the prophecy of his coming in Psalm 2. Here we are told that the one who conquers, that's the saint, The genuine saints, how do you know they're a genuine saint? Because they conquer, they persevere to the end, they overcome. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations. He will rule them with a rod of iron. This is involved in our sharing in Christ's reign, that we will be given authority over the nations. We will rule the nations with a rod of iron. Who are we to do this? Who are we to share in Christ's rule like this? Amazing. And then chapter 5 of Revelation, verses 9 through 10, they sang a new song. This is a heavenly song saying, worthy are you to take the scroll. This is praising Christ as being worthy. Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals. For you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God. from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priest to our God, and they shall reign on the earth. So there it is again, the saints will reign on the earth, because they are made by Christ to be a kingdom and priest to our God. What is the significance of this reigning of the saints with Christ? It certainly is spoken of in some of the passages that we just read as a reward for the saints' perseverance. The Bible speaks of how the Lord will reward his people. And he rewards us by grace. He's the one who has produced good fruit in our life that will be seen in the judgment and when we are rewarded. And the rewarding will include this sharing in the reign of Christ. So certainly this is a reward. It also is vindication of the martyrs. Remember which saints were spoken of as representatives of the saints who will reign with Christ for a thousand years. It was those who were beheaded for their witness to Christ, who went through great tribulation, but persevered all the way to the point of shedding their blood for Christ's sake. So the martyrs were already highlighted in this text. Turn over to Revelation 6, where the martyrs are crying out for vindication. Revelation 6, beginning at verse 9. It says, When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God. And for the witness they had borne, they cried out with a loud voice, O sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who would be killed as they themselves had been. So you have in the Great Tribulation these martyrs represented. Now, they're not represented yet as ruling and reigning. That's not until later on. At this point, they are under the altar. They're not resurrected. It just speaks to their souls. And they're crying out, O sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth. They would be vindicated when the Lord would judge those who put them to death, and they also would be vindicated when they are rewarded with ruling and reigning with Christ for a thousand years. It's the Lord's vindication of them, declaring them to be His righteous ones, who are pure and spotless and blameless. In verse 11, it says, they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, were to be killed as they themselves had been. And when that number would be complete, then Christ would come again, and then they would rule and reign with Christ, completely vindicated Remember what we read last week from Isaiah 11, verse 9. The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. That will be seen very clearly. That will be fulfilled very clearly. As the saints rule with Christ for a thousand years, the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Right now, the earth is nothing like that. The world is in the clutches of the evil one. The world is following the prince of the power of this air. The world is completely under the curse that came upon this world with the fall. But Christ is going to come again. He's going to begin to renew the earth. He's going to begin to renew His creation. And He's going to glorify His saints. He's going to rule and reign over the nations. And the knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. What a glorious time that will be. Now, if we continue in our text, we come back to Revelation 20. We go into verse 5. It says, the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. So after the thousand years, then the wicked will be raised physically. They'll be raised physically for the judgment. Now we will study that in great detail in future weeks. What will follow upon their being raised and judged will then be them suffering the second death. It's referred to in verse six. It says, Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power. The wicked, after a thousand years, will be raised. They'll be raised unto the second death. What is the second death? Well, if you turn over, 2, chapter 21, verse 8, it's clearly taught to us what the second death is. It says, but as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. So the lake that burns with fire and sulfur is the second death. It's an eternal death. This is something, in one sense, it's very, very terrible. Not saying it's terrible in the sense that it's not what God has ordained. God has ordained the second death. He has ordained the eternal punishment of the wicked. But in another sense, it's something very, very terrible. It's because sin is very, very terrible. Rebellion is very, very terrible. And the punishment matches the nature of rebellion. We'll leave that for another time. But coming back to our text, We're told in verse six, blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. Those who experience the first resurrection are the holy ones. They are the saints. And what a blessing they receive in the resurrection. It says later on in verse six, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. So now we have something added to this idea of the saints reigning with Christ for a thousand years. Now we're also told that the saints will be priests of God and of Christ. So we have two things brought together. The saints will rule and reign and they also will serve as priests. So they will serve as priests and kings. Remarkable. As priests, what will we do? As priests, we will serve and worship the Father and the Son day and night. This is spoken of elsewhere in the book. Turn back to chapter 7, verses 14 through 15. It says, I said to him, Sir, you know, and he said to me, these are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple." That's the idea of being a priest of God and of Christ. It is the idea of serving God, serving Christ day and night. Even here we have the language of doing so in His temple. That certainly brings to mind the priestly function. Chapter 22, verse 3, speaking of the new heavens and the new earth and the new Jerusalem, it says, That's what the priests did. They worshipped God. And that will be our vocation. As we rule and reign with Christ, our vocation will be to serve and to worship God and the Son, to worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. What a glorious time that will be. We will be priests of God and of Christ. We will live out our new identity in Christ to the full. I put in your notes some of the first verses in this book, Revelation 1, verses 5 through 6. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom, priest to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Already, even though we are not yet to the point of Revelation 20, already we are told that we have been made to be a kingdom. Already, we as Christians are priests to our God and Father. Now think of how we will fulfill this role as priests to an even greater extent in the millennium, when we are right there, we're in the place where The Lord Jesus will physically, bodily dwell, and we will see him as he is, and we will serve him as his priests. This ruling and reigning with Christ, the serving God and the Son as priests, is what God has purposed for his people throughout history. Exodus 19, verse 6, records the establishment of the Mosaic Covenant at Mount Sinai. And there the Lord speaks to the people of Israel and says, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Now, the Old Testament history shows that they fell very far short of this responsibility of being a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. This was their identity, but they did not live up to their identity. They did not live according to their identity. But this has been God's revealed purpose throughout redemptive history is that His people would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. And it will be fulfilled. after Christ comes again, and we are raised, and we rule and reign with Christ. This is what the first Adam failed to do. Genesis 1, verse 26 says, Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. When God created mankind, he created us in his image to exercise dominion over his creation, to rule and reign over his creation as his representatives. And in the fall, we failed miserably at doing that. And we will be restored unto our original purpose of being Christ's representatives, God's representatives, ruling and reigning over the earth. Chapter 2 verse 15 of Genesis tells us that the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and to keep it. That's similar to priestly work. He was to do that in the garden, that place where God walked, where God came to meet with the first man. But he again failed miserably. He was expelled from this place of blessing, this place where he met with God. He was expelled because of his sin. How glorious it will be when we rule and reign with Christ as his priests. Let's go on in our text. Revelation 20 verse 7 says, And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison. and will come out to deceive. Over and over again in the scriptures, we see that Satan is a deceiver. I saw or read one commentator point out that Satan does not overpower people, but deceives them. Satan does not work in our life by overpowering us. He works in our life by deceiving us. He feeds us with lies. That's the form that temptation takes. Temptation takes the form, often, of a lie that Satan feeds to us. He is a deceiver. This is how he works. And he will be bound for a thousand years. Now, think of the sovereignty of God. God doesn't have to go to Satan personally to bind him for the 1,000 years. All God has to do is send one of his angels with authority, with power, and that angel is able to, without any difficulty, bind Satan for 1,000 years. That's the sovereignty of God. That's the authority of God. But after the 1,000 years are ended, God will temporarily release Satan. Satan's not going to escape. He's not going to find some way out of that prison. No, the Lord God will purposefully release Satan temporarily from his prison. We're told that Satan will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea. Now, if you're not familiar with the book of Ezekiel, Gog and Magog is going to make no sense to you. This is an allusion to the book of Ezekiel, to a prophecy there of this very event. Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 prophesy what we are reading of right here. Gog and Magog represent the nations. who are rebellious against God and hostile to His people. Look in our text, Revelation 20, verse 9. It says, and they, this is Gog and Magog. This is the nations that are at the four corners of the earth that are gathered by Satan for battle, whose number is like the sand of the sea, verse 9. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints And the beloved city, the beloved city is Jerusalem. Just think of how Jerusalem is spoken of in some of the Psalms. They surrounded the camp of the saints. The camp, that's using Old Testament terminology. Remember the Israelites would encamp around the dwelling place of God, the tabernacle. They marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them. So Gog and Magog represent the nations of this world that rebel against God and come against, to fight against the people of God, all right? And so we are, or we're told how this prophecy from Ezekiel will be fulfilled. Now let's go back to the prophecy. Turn with me to Ezekiel chapter 38. Ezekiel 38 verse one. The word of the Lord came to me. Son of man, set your face toward Gog. of the land of Magog. So Gog is referring to a king. The land of Magog is Gog's kingdom. This is a hostile nation, a hostile world ruler named Gog. Son of man, set your face toward Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshach and Tubal, and prophesy against him. Now go down to verse eight. Verse eight says, after many days you will be mustered. This is speaking to Gog and Magog. After many days you will be mustered. In the latter days you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel." So, this is speaking about something eschatological. Something that was in the distant future. It says in the latter years this will happen. The latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war. The land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountain of Israel. So speaking about a time in the future after the Lord restores a people for himself. And after the Lord renews the earth, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples on the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste, its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely all of them. You will advance coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes and many peoples with you. So the prophecy is many peoples of this earth are going to come against the people of God after the Lord restores things. Now you go down to verse 16. 16. You will come up against my people, Israel, like a cloud covering the land in the latter days. I will bring you against my land that the nations may know me when through you, oh God, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. Now we're starting to see some of the purpose, God's purpose and what we are studying in Revelation 20 with the last battle. Here it is. God's purpose is that the nations may know me. The Lord will vindicate his holiness before the eyes of the nation. So God is going to be revealing himself. He's going to be revealing his glory. Let's go on further. Verse 18. But on that day, the day that God shall come against the land of Israel declares the Lord God my wrath. will be roused in my anger. Go down to 21. I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Every man's sword will be against his brother. With pestilence and bloodshed, I will enter into judgment with him, and I will reign upon him and his hordes, and the many peoples who are with him, torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations." So God is going to judge the rebellious nations in order to showcase and exalt God's holiness. We sang that hymn at the beginning, holy, holy, holy. God's holiness is his hatred of sin and his justice flows from his holiness, where he must judge those things that are contrary to his holiness. So he says here, so I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord. Earlier in history, before this, God showed his holiness in salvation. Isaiah prophesies how God will show his holiness in salvation. Here is how God will show his holiness in judgment, in wrath. Going on, look at chapter 39, verse 6. I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they shall know that I am the Lord. And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nation shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel." Think of what is said in Philippians about one day, every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord and every knee will bow before him. That's not just the saved, the regenerate, who will do so out of heart that are worshiping Christ. It will include the unregenerate who have no choice when the judgment falls but to acknowledge that the judge, Jesus Christ, is Lord. The nation shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. Go down to verse 13. All the people of the land will bury them. That is after the Lord destroys these nations that come against his people. All the people of the land will bury those who are destroyed. It will bring them renown on that day that I Show my glory declares the Lord God and then go down to 21 And I will set my glory among the nations and all the nations shall see my judgment that I've executed and my hand that I have laid on them so that's Gives us the purpose come back to Revelation chapter 20 to see What Revelation says about how that those prophecies in Ezekiel will be fulfilled? Revelation 20 Verse 7, And when a thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea, and they march up over the broad plain of the earth. and surrounded the camp of the saints in the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them." Note here the futility of rebelling against God. This is prophesying the last rebellion on this planet. The nations will gather to war against the saints, but there's not going to be a battle. There's not going to be warfare. What's going to happen? Fire will come down from God in heaven and consume them. It is foolish to rebel against God. No one will succeed in rebelling against God. God always will have the last word. We see that very clearly in this text, both with Satan and with these nations who join him in this last rebellion. This last rebellion will be followed by the final judgment, which is foretold in the following verses, verses 11 through 15. God will permit the last rebellion that we've just studied in order to accomplish at least two things. First of all, it is in order to show in one more way that the wicked of mankind are without excuse. Romans 1.20 makes a big point that the unbeliever is without excuse. Romans 3.19 makes clear that on the day of the final judgment, every mouth will be closed. No one will be able to give an excuse for their sinful, idolatrous ways at the judgment. And now what we are seeing in our text is that when God permits the last rebellion to occur, It will show in one more way that the wicked of mankind are without excuse. The ultimate root of human sinfulness is not a bad environment, nor is it Satan's temptations. Though Christ will reign in righteousness and goodness for a thousand years over this earth, and Satan will be bound during those thousand years, unregenerate man's allegiance to Satan will not be overturned. The last rebellion will show that the rebellious heart of man will be unchanged. This will manifest the necessity of eternal punishment. Unless freed by the grace of the Lord Jesus, the unregenerate are under the eternal power of sin. It's clearly seen. When Satan is released and he pours out his deception, and the unregenerate follow after him, this will be clearly seen. A very clear case will be made for the necessity of eternal punishment. The last verse in our text, verse 10 says, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were. The casting of Satan into the lake of fire will be the second of three stages by which evil is eradicated from the world for all eternity, preparing the way for the new heavens and the new earth. What was the first stage? The first stage was the casting of the beast and the false prophet into the lake of fire in chapter 19, verse 20. Here's the second stage, the casting of Satan into the lake of fire. What will be the final stage of this will be the casting of the wicked of mankind into the lake of fire in chapter 21, verse 15. Well, this passage is a full passage from the glories of ruling and reigning with Christ as his priests to eternal judgments. This displays both the grace of our God and the justice of our God. Do you have any questions or comments? I'm just going to repeat for the recording. The question is, what will happen in the millennium to the saints who were alive at Christ's return and so therefore enter the millennium without glorified bodies? What will happen to them when they die during the millennium? Scripture doesn't tell us. what will happen. But we know that to be absent from other places in the New Testament, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So, you know, they're going to continue to be with the Lord. Right. We're not told, you know, certainly they will receive a resurrection body. They're not going to be excluded from having a resurrection body. That's clearly God's purpose that he's going to fulfill for all the redeemed. Salvation will culminate. We'll talk about that when we talk about the judgments. Salvation will culminate in glorification, which includes the glorification of the body. So possibly the body will be instantly glorified. I don't know. The Bible just doesn't tell us. But we do know that the saints will, from the coming of Christ, from the second coming, from then on, the saints will forever be with the Lord. Whatever state they are in, they will be with the Lord. Robert. So the question is, those who reign with Christ for a thousand years, is it just limited to the martyrs who are pointed out in the text? No, it has to be broader than that. Verse 6 of our text widens it out. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. Over such, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. It wouldn't make any sense for only the saints who had been beheaded, and it specifically says those who had been beheaded. It wouldn't make sense only for the saints who were beheaded to receive this blessing of ruling and reigning with Christ for a thousand years, and the rest of the saints are somehow left out of it. That doesn't make any sense. So they're just highlighted. They represent the whole. They represent all the saints who have died. All right, Robert, follow up and then... Abraham as well, yeah. All the saints who died before the coming of Christ. My verse. Right. Right? And we saw the terminology day and night in Revelation 7. We will serve the Lord day and night. We can only imagine what that would be like to have a glorified body that will not be subject to so many of the weaknesses that our bodies currently are subjected to. Yes. The rest of the dead, so these are the rest of the people who have lived on this earth who have died. So we have two groups of people there in that point of the text. The saints are raised, the saints who have died are raised. The rest of humanity who has died, physically died, so that's now the wicked who have died, they will not be raised until the thousand years are finished. So those individuals are all the wicked who died before the coming of Christ, from Cain to Ahab to people of our generation who do not know Christ, who died before he comes again. One last comment or question from Boyce. So the question is, the saints in verses five and six, where are they? So we have, you're talking about the ones who share in the first resurrection, right? Let me just make sure I understand your question. Verse 6 says, Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection, over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. You're asking about where this will be? the thrones are on earth. I know the amillennial interpretation sees these as heavenly thrones. The premillennial interpretation sees these as on earth. The idea is, first of all in verse four, The first thing that he sees are these thrones. He sees them being seated on these thrones. To these beings, authority to judge is committed. Then he sees the souls of those who have been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus. And he says, they came to life. So evidently he sees this in the vision. These souls come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years. I interpret the second half of the verse to be explaining who these beings are who are seated on the thrones at the beginning of verse four. The people sitting on the throne are those who participate in the first resurrection. And they sit on those thrones after the resurrection occurs. And it would be here on earth because Christ has returned to the earth to rule and reign over the nations. And we're told, in some of the other passages that the saints will be ruling over the nations. Where are the nations? The nations are on earth. You're going to rule with a rod of iron. So this is not ruling over beings who are in heaven, ruling with a rod of iron. It's going to have to be over beings who are on the earth. Does that answer your question? Afterwards, bring that to me. I'd love to go further with this, but I'm just watching the time go by and I want to leave enough time for prayer. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for revealing to us what will happen in the future that we should be aware of right now. Lord, we thank you that Jesus Christ will come again. And he will consummate his reign. Lord Jesus, come quickly for us. Lord, may you find us faithful. May you find us prepared for your return. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.