Okay, I want to continue our thoughts from last Sunday night concerning Revelation 20 and what is described as the Millennium. And I think any further thing I can say tonight, next week, week after on Revelation 20, pales in comparison to what we said last week. My opinion on Revelation 20 is far less important, my interpretation of it is far less important, than the principles that are required to wisely and prudently look into it. I'm not so much concerned about difference of opinion in Revelation 20 as I am the approach to it. needs to be biblical and in the fear of God. That's why we spent so much time last week talking about basic philosophical, spiritual, and biblical principles that we have to have in mind before we even begin to touch it. If you don't mind, I'll just recount them quickly to you and not expound on them, otherwise I'll preach my whole sermon over again and I'll get nowhere. Fact number one, there is no apostolic, authoritative interpretation of Revelation 20 anywhere in the Bible. You have Revelation 20. I mean, how in the world do you look at Revelation and say, this is not a highly symbolic, apocalyptic, prophetic book? You can't come to that conclusion. It is more apocalyptic and symbolic than say, Ezekiel or Daniel, and those are pretty much that way too. But nothing compares to Revelation. I mean, it's just a casual reading. You say, whoa, you know, What's all this? And we don't have an apostolic interpretation of that text, and that's important because the only biblical hermeneutic there is, is not the literal hermeneutic, it's not a symbolic hermeneutic, it's not the ABC hermeneutic from Seminary of Bozo the Clown, it's none of those things. The only biblical hermeneutic there is that exists is the Apostles' Doctrine. The early believers continued steadfastly, although the only Bible they had to read was the Old Testament. They continued, it doesn't say, in Moses and the prophets, though that's what they were reading. They continued steadfastly in the Apostles' Doctrine. So as the apostles went about in that first century teaching, sending letters to the assembly, interpreting Moses and the prophets, they understood Jesus appointed these men to be our teachers, and what they say goes. And the way that they interpret Moses and the prophets is proper, right, and divinely inspired. Now, if they do it literally, then when they do that, it should be literal. When it doesn't appear at all to be literal, but they say it fulfills the scripture, then we believe them. And that guides our understanding. It's the apostle's doctrine. Now, here's my point though. Revelation 20, you have no apostolic comment. on that chapter. So just understand, you're going alone. That ought to temper these people. That's why they get the brand-new convert, and you get a six-week Timothy course, you've been saved for two weeks, now I'm going to put you through an eight-week course, and then by the time you're done, you're going to sign a paper saying, I believe in the premillennial return of Jesus Christ. How in the world is someone that has been saved for eight weeks, signed that paper, Not in hypocrisy. I suppose he could, because he's so young and he knows so little of the scripture. You know, the people who know the least oftentimes are the most dogmatic, right? You think you know it all, and you don't really know that much. So maybe some people do think, yeah, you proved it to me. It's beyond a shadow of a doubt. But the only reason they're so sure is they don't know that much of scripture yet. But you can't do that. There's no apostolic interpretation of Revelation 20. And let us not forget the hermeneutic given in Numbers chapter 12, where Moses tells us that prophecy came by visions and dreams and through dark sayings. and is not something that is apparent. As Moses spoke, he spoke apparently and plainly. The Lord spoke with him face to face. But the prophets are different. The prophets have been spoken to in visions and dreams and dark sayings, which is to say, it isn't so apparent. So when you say, I'm a Bible conservative, I use the literal hermeneutic in prophecy. In other words, it means exactly what it says. Oh, Grandpa can understand it because it means what it says and he says what it means. And that's how you interpret prophecy. Well, Moses seemed to kind of indicate something different in Numbers 12. So let them make fun of you for not using their literal hermeneutic in prophecy, but ignore it. 2,000 years of Christian history also we noted, and there's no unanimity of opinion on Revelation 20. You had historic premillennialism, you had amillennialism, postmillennialism, preterism, and finally, and Johnny come lately, and in its own category, dispensational premillennialism, which shares less in common with historic premillennialism of 2,000 years ago than it does with any, you know. Amillennialists have more in common with historic premillennialists from the first few centuries than the dispensational premillennialists have in common with the early premillennialists. They're light years apart. But all these different views through 2,000 years, doesn't that tell you something? Hmm. It may tell us that maybe we shouldn't be so certain about ourselves in this. Also, there's some other principles. Use the straightforward and plain text to help understand the prophetic and obscure text. Don't reinterpret the plain and straightforward text to make it conform to your literal interpretation of the obscure and prophetic text. That would have to be the cart before the horse. Take the obscure and prophetic text and make it match what you already know from the more plain, straightforward text. And also take the singular text, which seems to be different and happens to be prophetic, and make that conform to the many other texts that are in plain areas that all agree with each other. That's only common sense stuff. We should be able to sit around under an apple tree and figure that out on our own without reading any theology books. Also, Revelation is the last book in the Bible. It's the most highly symbolic, and we know the least about it because it is the last book. There's no comment on it, other than the text itself. And another discipline to remember, the disciples did not understand Old Testament prophecy that well. They did not understand the death and resurrection of Christ. They did not understand that Christmas needs have suffered. And they were discouraged after he died. He told them, I'm going to die and rise again. Peter thought, you're not supposed to do that. He tried to stop them. Get thee behind me, Satan. Stop your dispensational kingdom. I did not come to bring a dispensational kingdom for the Jews can rule now. And modern theology says, well, that's what they were supposed to do. Well, if that's what they were supposed to do, it's no wonder Peter says, hey, no, far be it from me, you to be killed. The Lord had to say to the two on the road to Emmaus, well, we thought he would have redeemed Israel, but he got killed. How can he redeem Israel by dying on the cross? Oh, fools! It's law of the heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. So if the apostles only had a partial understanding of the prophecies given in their days to be fulfilled in their future, who are we to think that we have our thumb on all the ins and outs of Revelation, which is the prophecy given for us and our future? We're that much better? than Paul and Peter and John? I don't think so. Now, the problem with Revelation 20, not the problem with Revelation 20, but the problem with the literal interpretation of it, which is the thousand-year millennium with a resurrection at each end of it, is that it negates the continuity of message contained throughout the whole New Testament, which speaks universally and consistently of the return of Christ, the resurrection of all men, and the universal judgment of all men, and the establishing of a new heavens and a new earth. The Scriptures are universal in that witness. But what modern theologians have done is they've taken all that universal testimony, which is plain and straightforward and in non-prophetic books of the Bible, like John, the Gospels, things like that, And they've taken all that and jammed it into their literal hermeneutic of Revelation 20, rather than saying, here is the universal mosaic of all these other plain portions of scripture. And Revelation 20 is now thrown in, wait a minute, he comes back and there's two resurrections separated by a thousand years? So it isn't this universal return and judgment and resurrection anymore. and then making all the other scriptures fit into their understanding of Revelation 20, rather than saying, now wait a minute, this is Revelation, it is prophecy, it is highly symbolic, and these other texts all agree with each other. Maybe we need to understand Revelation 20 in light of everything else we've seen. Now that would be wisdom. Doesn't mean they'll come up with all the answers, but that is the proper approach and that's not what's being done. So I took it upon myself to say, let's embark on a search of the scriptures and see the universal testimony of the Lord's day, the return of Christ, the day of judgment. We only looked at one text last week because I spent all my time in these preliminaries. And that was John 5. We'll just look at it quickly to remind ourselves of it. John 5 and verse 28. John 5, 28. John is not revelation. It's not really a prophetic book. It's not that there's no prophecy in it, but it's not a prophetic book, is it? It's historical, really. And the prophecy that's in there is the historical recording of the things that Jesus said. And so in verse 28, marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice and shall come forth. They that have done good under the resurrection of life, they that have done evil under the resurrection of damnation. A child without a preconceived notion would never read a thousand and seven years between those two resurrections. Not in a thousand and seven years would he do that. He reads it, and he would read it very naturally, and Jesus says, the hour is coming. There's not two hours separated by a thousand and seven years. The rapture is one, that's the resurrection of the saints, and then you have the resurrection of the unconverted, according to dispensationalism, which is after seven year tribulation, then after a thousand year millennium, so it's a thousand and seven years later. They're saying there's a thousand and seven years being covered here. Really? Well, you have to import that into the decks that Jesus said, the hour is coming in which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice. There's an hour coming in which all men will rise from the dead and they fall into two groups, resurrection of life and resurrection of damnation. And the very simple, obvious, plain, simple, straightforward, natural meaning is there's a time when Christ comes and in that hour all men will be judged and resurrected. Some will receive a resurrection of life and some will receive a resurrection of damnation. So any separation of these resurrections and making them different resurrections does not come from the text and actually mitigates against the flow of the text. So we covered that last week. There's more we could say about it, but we talked about it last week. Now go to Matthew 25. Matthew 25. And as I said last week, if all we had was John 5 to go on, would I reinterpret John 5 in light of Revelation 20? Or should I rethink Revelation 20 in light of John 5? Think about it. Even if that was all you had to go on, you know what you're supposed to do. But brethren, it's not all we have to go on. Matthew 25 and verse 31, when the Son of Man shall come in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, Then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations. And he shall separate them one from another, as a sheep divided his sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king say unto them, on his right hand come ye, blessed my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, you gave me drink. And he said, inasmuch as you've done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you've done it unto me. And then he has the goats on his left hand. And he says, you're being sent to eternal judgment. Why? Because you didn't bless my people. That's because you hated me. And Matthew 25 perfectly, in its natural estate, matches John 5. The hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and come forth in one hour. All the people would be resurrected and judge and the world will be split down the middle. Not that it's a 50 50 situation. I'm not talking proportions, but split down into the elect and the reprobate in Matthew 25 terms, the sheep and the goats. All of this, the judgment of the sheep who are called, who are the righteous and the judgment of the goats who are the wicked happens at the same time. What does verse 31 say? When the son of man shall come in his glory and all the holy angels with him. This judgment takes place when Christ returns. May I say in light of John 5, in the hour he comes, everybody comes out of the grave and it's judgment day. There's no seven years to rethink your position then except Jesus as your savior. You don't have a seven year time to rethink anything. Now you say it's more frightening this way. Well, if you're unconverted, yeah, but that's a good thing. A large motivation for me to begin with was fear. Fear of the guilt of my own sin. And with this presentation, I realize today is a day of salvation. I don't have time to rethink it when Jesus returns. It's a universal resurrection of all men. It's described as, and before him shall be gathered all nations. The whole world is there. And they try and get out of it. It's the judgment of the nations. See, it said nations, and they make it into a title. And then they make it into a title, now it's its own special thing because they say so. Jew, Gentile, male, female, bond-free, all nations are there. Everybody's coming out of the grave. All people are going to be judged. Matthew 25 is exactly like John chapter 5. Turn to Acts chapter 17. Acts chapter 17. Just two verses here. Acts 17 and verse 30. In the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent, because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all men and that he hath raised him from the dead now it's a simple text of scripture it matches everything we've read so far and uh... we have a picture here that is very plain and there's a key word here it's because in verse thirty one because Paul said all men everywhere in verse 30, all men everywhere must repent. Why? Verse 31, because he hath appointed a day. Now see, we're being told nowadays, Oh, there's two days. There's a day for the Christians. And a thousand and seven years later, there's a day for the wicked. There's two days. Where is that? One place in scripture, where does that originate from? There's only one place they get it from, Revelation 20. You've got to undo these because you want to say, oh no, Revelation 20 is literally fulfilled in a thousand years with a physical resurrection at the beginning and the end. Well, we're told here, all men everywhere are committed to repent because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world, not just the Christians and not just the wicked, the whole world. In other words, an hour is coming in which all that will be in the grave will come forth. Look at Romans 14. Romans 14. Romans 14, just two verses here. Romans 14 and verse 10. Well, three verses actually. Romans 14, verse 10. But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at naught thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess. So then, every one of us shall give an account of himself to God. I would say that, well, yeah, just the way he said it. Because it matches everything else in scripture, in all these other texts we've looked at. He says that we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess. Everyone will give an account to God. So the dispensationalist, you know, Mr. Dispensational Arnold Horschak says, oh, oh, oh, oh. Yes, Arnold. This is just for the Christian. Oh, this is just for the Christian. This is not the great white throne judgment. Oh, you know, heaven forbid there's any descriptions used in scripture because they'll make it a title and turn it into a category and put it in this pocket. And then if you use a different word somewhere else about the same thing, oh, it's a different word. That's a completely different entity that goes in this pocket. I got a dispensation here, dispensation here, dispensation here. Excuse me. They say, well, this is just for Christians, see? That's what they say nowadays. So the Christians, all the Christians will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And all the Christians, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess and give an account before the Lord. This is the judgment of the Lord's people. And that's their argument. Now, if you took this text in total isolation, you don't get that from the text. It doesn't say that. But you could transport that thought in there, and the words could make allowance for it, if you use this just in isolation. Also, the words make allowance for what I'm saying it means. But, of course, you don't want to take any text in isolation. And so, while this text could be manipulated to cause people to believe, when he says, we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, it doesn't mean everyone, it just means the Christians. Now, maybe someone could try and do that, I understand. But if that is true, then the judgment of the righteous And the judgment of the wicked take place at different times if dispensationalists are right. However, I contend that this text is absolutely talking about both the judgment of the righteous and the wicked. You say, how do you know? It doesn't say that. And you may say, Pastor Gallagher, it doesn't say this is just the righteous. Well, it doesn't say it includes the wicked as well. Oh, see, we're at a stalemate. Case closed, let's move on to the next text. No, it's not closed. Context. Now here's the context. Verse 11. For it is written. Okay, so verse 10. Why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set it not thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. So we're trying to figure out, does all mean just Christians, all Christians? Or does it mean all men of all time, sinners and saints? must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And to prove his point that all must stand before him, he quotes a portion of scripture. Verse 11, for as it is written, for it is written, as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God. So it might be useful to look up that text of scripture and have it help us understand the context of this quotation. So go to Isaiah 45, Isaiah 45. And... It's the second part of verse 23. If you keep your finger on both texts, you can kind of burn it in your brain. The second part of verse 23 of Isaiah chapter 45. That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. And so in Romans chapter 14 and verse 11, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God. So Paul is quoting Isaiah 45, verse 23, or the second portion of verse 23. So it might be useful for us to look at the broader context of this text that he's quoting. We're trying to figure out because does all mean just Christians? Or does it mean all men? Well, back up to verse 20. Let's read the context here. Assemble yourselves and come. Draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations. They have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image and pray unto a God that cannot save. Well, he's referencing the heathen. Yes, he is. Tell ye, and bring them near, yea, let them take counsel together. Who hath declared this from ancient time? Who hath told it from that time? Have not I the Lord? And there is no God else beside me? A just God and a Saviour, there is none beside me." Now you're saying, these heathen who have their graven images in these pagan gods, They don't have any gods. I'm the only god there is. Who can tell the beginning from the end? Only me. Verse 22, look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. All you heathen who worship idols. Look unto me and be saved, all ye heathen, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else, not your pagan gods. I have sworn by myself, the word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow. and every tongue shall swear." He's talking about the whole world whom he's addressing. All you pagans throughout the world that worship your false gods, your gods are dead. I can tell the end from the beginning. And then he declares, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear. Surely shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength. Even to him shall men come and all that are in sense against him shall be ashamed. On that day, in the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory. because they're the same. The children of Israel is the title for God's people. Not all those who are of Israel are Israel and of course we got the New Covenant interpretation of that. But the whole context here is Here's the heathen throughout all the nation worshiping their pagan gods. Let's ask them a few questions. Do their gods know the future like me? Aren't their gods dead and I'm the only god? And then the Lord declares, let me tell you, every knee shall bow to me. He wasn't meaning, well, let me tell you, all the children of Israel will bow to me. Even you guys won't. Well, at least they will. That's not what's being communicated. So there's the context. and then we go back to Romans 14 and Paul says in verse 10 for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ for it is written in Isaiah every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God so then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God, and that includes Israel, and that includes those who made those pagan gods in Isaiah chapter 45. So if that's the proper interpretation of Romans 14, then that means there's a universal judgment of the righteous and the wicked on the same day, which does not exist anywhere in the lengthy eschatological scheme of pre-tribulationalism. They have it separated by a thousand and seven years. Not so in this text, not so in John chapter five, not so in Matthew 25, not so in Acts 17, not so in Romans 14. And by the way, one note, when it was quoted in Isaiah, when it was quoted in Isaiah, well, let me go back there. Isaiah 45, this is a side note just for your, little side blessing, not directly related to what we're saying. So in Isaiah 45, this is talking about Jehovah, right? Because in verse 21, well, assemble yourself, verse 20, draw near. Tell ye, in verse 21, bring them near, yea, let them take counsel together. Who hath declared this from ancient time? Who hath told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord, capital L, capital O, capital I, so Tetragrammaton, That is Jehovah. Have not I, the person speaking, is Jehovah. I, God. Have not I. There is no God besides me. The me is Jehovah God. A just God and Savior, that's Jehovah God. And so when you get to verse 23, I, Jehovah God, have sworn to myself that every knee shall bow to me, Jehovah God, and every tongue shall confess to me, Jehovah God. When Paul quotes that, in Romans 14, he applies it to Christ. Must be the same. So, just another proof of the deity of Christ. Turn to Acts 24. Acts 24. We'll just make this one a quickie. We'll just kind of like read it here. Acts 24 and verse 14. But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets, and have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. Did he just cover 1007 years there? That's what everybody says now. That's not the flow of that language. It's a simple text. It's not too profound. This shall be a resurrection of the dead. The just and the unjust, very much like John 5, the hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and come forth. They that have done good on the resurrection of life, they that have done evil on the resurrection of damnation. Or like Matthew 25, when the Lord returns in his glory with his angels, then at that time, it's the resurrection and judgment of both the wicked and the righteous. All the nations are gathered before him, and the wicked and the righteous are being judged when he returns. Now they can't be judged unless they're resurrected. That would also imply they're all being resurrected at the same time. That is the natural understanding of the text. And even though you had pre-millennials, historic pre-millennialists, amillennialists, post-millennialists, in spite of their differences of how to understand Revelation 20, none of them would disagree with what I'm saying. All the differences of Christianity for 1,800 years would not disagree with what I'm saying to you now. The disagreement comes with, so what do we do with the details of Revelation 20? Which I'm saying is the less important point, because I can't point to Revelation 20 and say, and Peter said concerning Revelation, But I can say we know Isaiah 45 and what it means because it's quoted in Acts. Or if Peter on the day of Pentecost says the promise was made to David that his seed would sit on his throne and this was fulfilled in the resurrection of Christ, we know when Christ sat on David's throne because Peter told us. We don't argue with him. He guides our hermeneutic. Apostle's Doctrine, that's what that is, see? This means what it says. there'll be a resurrection of the dead, both the just and the unjust. You want to transport a thousand plus years into it, you have to transport it. It doesn't come from here. John 6. John 6. Christians, my contention is, Christians and the wicked are resurrected on the same day. They're judged on the same day, and that day is called the Laugh Day. It's funny how the dispensationalists get all hyped up about titles, except when they're not convenient to them. And I'm not turning the Laugh Day into a title, but I'm saying, you want to play fair? Then let's play fair. Christians are resurrected at the last day. There's no argument. Look at John 6 here, right? Verse 39. And this is the Father's will that hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing. See, there's perseverance of the saint, if you can't find it in the Bible. But should raise it up again at the last day. Okay, well obviously he's talking about Christians because he's talking about those who have been given to him by his Heavenly Father. I think we can all agree those are Christians. And they're going to be resurrected. I think we can all agree these Christians that have been given to Jesus by the Father, they're going to be resurrected. I think we can all agree when they're going to be resurrected. They're going to be resurrected at the last day. no reason for argument I mean I did if you can turn that into an argument I you know I quit you know all right now look at verse 40 and this is the will of him that sent me that everyone would see it the Sun and believeth on him may have everlasting life and obviously those are Christians and I'll raise him up when? At the last day. That's just like verse 39. You say, but that's Christians too. That's right. That's who's being referenced. No doubt. Look at verse 44. No man can come to me except the father which has sent me draw him and I will raise him up when? At the last day. Christians are resurrected at the last day. Verse 54, whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life. Well, those would be Christians. And I will raise him up. When? At the last day. No reason. I mean, no one does argue that Christians are raised from the dead on the last day. Of course, in the dispensational thinking, well, it's not really the last day. There's another one a thousand seven years later. That's a different day, but that doesn't count because it's a different category of people. It's unconverted people. This is talking about the last day for the Christians. That's it. Yeah. Well, we know this. The Christians are resurrected at the last day. Okay. Now, same author, so it's not some different author using the phrase, but meaning, you know, it's the same author in the same book. Go to chapter 12. John 12 and verse 48. He that rejecteth me, well, that wouldn't be a Christian, and receiveth not my word, well, that wouldn't be a Christian, hath one that judgeth him. The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him. Well, when will this wicked unconverted man be judged? Same day the Christians are. Last day. Of course, the Christians are resurrected the last day. So I have the preacher-rapture system And none of the wicked are resurrected at the rapture. So how are they judged on that day? Maybe it's just the dead ones. Well, they're not judged when they die. I mean, somehow it's done at the rapture. I haven't even heard anyone say that. But it's pretty obvious that the wicked and the righteous are resurrected on the same day, the Laugh Day. And He's going to separate the sheep from the goats. and all men will stand before His judgment seat, and there will be a resurrection to life and a resurrection to damnation, all in the same hour on the last day." All of these verses say the same thing, and none of them are the book of Revelation. Let that come last. Look at 2 Timothy 4. My time is out here. 2 Timothy 4 and verse 1. I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead that is appearing in his kingdom. It's not complicated. You don't have to read a bunch of stuff into that. It means exactly what it says. The Lord Jesus Christ will judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom. It's as simple as that. You say, it can't be that simple. Yes, it is that simple. You say, well, what about, I got these prophecy outlines concerning Ezekiel and Daniel. Wait a minute. Apostle of the Doctrine. Some people need to rethink Ezekiel and Daniel too. Apostle of the Doctrine. Look at Matthew 13. Matthew 13, and verse 24. Another parable put forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which soweth good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. When the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit, then appeared tares also. That's not good. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servant said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay. Lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. let both grow together until the harvest and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers gather ye together first the tares hmm the tares are gathered first so that pre-trib rapture thing's a little odd Gather first, in other words, he's going to deal with them first. The wicked will be judged in that day and consumed, and then the Lord will heap on us our blessings. So he'll take care of the bad guys first. That makes what he has to do for us all the more pleasurable, see? Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, and gather the wheat into my barn. I mean, that all happens when the Lord returns at the same time and the same hour. Well, that's what every text says in the Bible. Don't make it more complicated than it is. Revelation 20, I'll give you one from Revelation. Might as well do one from Revelation and might as well do it from chapter 20. You say, well, in chapter 20 it says, resurrection, thousand years resurrection. All right, but you're going to now change all those other texts of scriptures and others that I haven't covered? You're going to change all those and undo those plain portions for this? Well, even in Revelation 20, I think we have a pretty simple message. In the latter portion, look at verse 11. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which are written in the book according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them. The dead are rising everywhere. And they were judged, every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, which means some people were, by the way, was cast into the lake of fire. That's just like John 5, Matthew 25, Acts 17, all these other texts we've looked at. We'll close with just reading two more. Psalm 96. I'll give you two from Psalms. Psalms 96, verse 12. Psalm 96, verse 12. Let the field be joyful in all that is therein. Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord. For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness and the people with his truth. Well, which people? How do I know if the psalmist is talking about judging the righteous? Maybe he's talking about judging the wicked. Maybe the world is just one of those categories. No, don't make it hard on yourself. It means what it says. It's judging the world. It's as simple as that. Because it matches everything in the Bible. One more, right across the page, Psalm 98. We sing Psalm 98, right? We love singing Psalm 98. Well, verse 8, let the floods clap their hands, let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, for he cometh to judge the earth. With righteousness shall he judge the world and the people with equity. And on and on we could multiply these. Now brethren, I think plenty of men with good intention have convince themselves that it's orthodox to have the resurrection of the righteous, a thousand years, and then the resurrection of the wicked because of their literal understanding of Revelation 20. But you've got to ask yourself the question, is that the proper thing to do with that text? in light of the universal witness of scripture everywhere else. And should we not go back to Moses who told us, when God spoke to the prophets, he spoke in visions and in dark dreams and dark sayings and in dreams and not apparently. So it shouldn't surprise us that, for instance, a nice round number like a thousand years could possibly be symbolic of something. You know, the Lord owns a cattle not on 7,365 hills. If the Bible says a thousand hills, so a thousand and one hill, you're on your own, you get out from under the radar of God? No. There is much poetic language that speaks of the loftiness of God. And when it's in these apocalyptic books, to turn them into like a cartoon, like, oh, it's as simple as a cartoon. Then what of John? Then what of Acts? Then what of Matthew? Then what of Isaiah? See, brethren, it's the cart before the horse. So I think many, many good men through the years have made that mistake, but a little critical thinking and evaluation would say maybe, you know, and after 2,000 years of absolute disagreement on Revelation 20 by Christians universally, maybe, just maybe we could come to the conclusion It's not as an apparent text as we maybe thought it was. And a little bit of humility goes a long way to making sure we don't say, thus saith the Lord, when he hasn't said so. If the Lord says to you, is the Lord going to thunder on judgment day? Why didn't you teach pre-tribulational, pre-millennial coming because of Revelation 20? And if you say, Lord, because I read these other texts and I didn't want to have contradiction and put words in your mouth, Well, you should have just assumed that he'll thunder against you. No, come on. The Lord sees the heart. There's something more profound than being right. It's fearing the Lord and hating evil. Being slow to speak and say, we wait on the Lord. Study. Theorize. Contemplate, surmise, formulate opinions, and keep them on the shelf labeled opinions. Until you know, you can do otherwise. Bow heads in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for that which Calvin did speak of, John Calvin, he spoke of a learned ignorance. And he discovered what many intellectuals in even secular disciplines have discovered. The more you know, the more you realize how little you know. And how much more true is that in the things of Christ, particularly the prophetic word, and that which has been revealed in visions and dreams and in dark sayings. So Lord, make us a humble people, not prideful, not arrogant. We lord not our position over those who have taken a literal position over Revelation 20, but we speak forcefully and dogmatically, not because we want to force a position on them, We want to warn and say, be careful to say, thus saith the Lord, and to help remind them of the higher principles that are involved. And though people may demand answers, it isn't always wise to give one when the Lord hasn't made that provision. And so, Father, we thank Thee. We pray that Thou would open up all the truth to us that we should see. That Thou would close our mouths to the truths that we can't know. That Thou would always keep our hearts open to that which perhaps we don't know now, but one day we will. And may we be led by the Spirit of God in all things. We pray this in Jesus' name.