If you'll turn back with me now
to the 20th chapter of the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is a book
like no other book in the Bible. It's a book written by a man
exiled to an island out in the middle of the Aegean Sea. It's a book containing seven
visions of the person and work of Christ in this gospel age. Each vision is a declaration
of His person and work during this gospel age to assure us
and to comfort us in all those things that we see coming upon
us. And in these visions, the Lord
reveals to His church what He has done, what He is doing, and
what He shall yet do. It is the revelation of Jesus
Christ. Now if you don't, that's the
opening words to the book. This is the revelation of Jesus
Christ. If you don't get that, it's going
to be a closed book to you. It's going to be the strangest
thing you've ever read. You're going to read about creatures
and things that will make the hair stand up on the back of
your neck. But you won't benefit from it at all unless you realize
what he says at the very beginning of the book. Revelation chapter 20 begins
with the coming of our Redeemer into this ungodly world and binding
that old serpent, the devil. Now I know it says an angel. And our Lord was referred to
several times throughout the Scriptures as that angel. He's a minister. He came to minister
to us. And as so, He's identified as
the angel. But there's no other angel who
could come and bind Satan. Michael the archangel, when he
was contending with Satan over the body of Moses, had said,
darest not bring a railing accusation against him. Didn't say anything
to him. He said, the Lord rebuked thee.
He didn't engage him in battle. He didn't grab him and they started
wrestling around. Satan is a powerful being. He confronted a perfect woman. in a perfect environment. And
one confrontation caused the ruin of the whole of civilization. One confrontation. You are no
match for Him. The angels are no match for Him.
There is only one who can come down and bind Him and hold Him
on a chain and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what this
chapter is talking about. It begins with the coming of
our Redeemer. into this ungodly world and binding
the old serpent, the devil, and binding him for a thousand years. Now, I want to remind you that
this is symbolic language and it's not to be taken literally.
A thousand years simply means a long time. A long time. In chapter 17, he speaks of a
scarlet-colored beast having seven heads and ten horns and
a prostitute, sitting upon this beast who was also scarlet in
color, and had these words on her forehead, Mystery Babylon
the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.
Now I no more expect to see a colored beast with seven heads and ten
horns. I'm not looking for that. Are
you looking for that? It's symbolic language. It's
symbolic language. And if we get off and try to
literally interpret this book of revelations, you're going
to get in trouble. And that's why men with all their graphs
and charts, and they've got this date and that date, and this
is going to happen on that date, and this is going to happen on
that date. Foolish. Our Lord said, No man knoweth
the day or the hour, not even the sun. All these things is
in the hands of the Father, and they'll come about when it's
proper time is here. This is symbolic language, and
these visions are given in this symbolic language, and this thousand
years can no more be taken literally than that actual scarlet-colored
beast with all these heads and horns. A thousand years means
simply a long period of time. And it's symbolic. This long
period of time is talking about this gospel age. Here's what's
coming to pass during this age. Satan is bound. He's bound. Now he's not bound from this
world, nor is he bound from the men and women in it. How is he
then bound? He's bound to God's elect. The devil is God's devil. And he can't do anything that
God is not willing for him to do. Do you believe that? He can't do anything. This is
God's devil. He comes along seeking, back
in the book of Job, someone to deceive. Someone to
convince of his lies. Somebody to do harm to. And the
Lord said, have you considered my servant Job? Oh yeah, yeah. He said, I've considered your
servant Job. But you got him hedged about. What's that mean? That means he couldn't touch
him. That's what that means. Is the devil powerful? Oh, my
soul, he's powerful. He's powerful. You don't match
for him. You no match for his cohorts, let alone him. But he's God's devil. And God
has his people hedged about. He has Satan on his chain. He
can go no further than God wants him to go. That's it. That's
it. He's bound. He is bound by the
gospel revelation of Christ. He is bound by the Holy Ghost
who alone leadeth until he be taken out of the way. He is bound
by Him who sits upon the throne and worketh all things after
the counsel of His own will. And there is a clear declaration
of this over in II Thessalonians 2. Speaking of the reprobation
of unbelieving men and women, rejecting the truth, being deceived
by the son of perdition, And they've been coming along saying,
well, the end of the world's at hand. Paul said, no it ain't.
No it ain't. Some things have to happen. Antichrist
religion has to flourish. There's some things going on. And he talks in here about the
reprobation of unbelieving men and women rejecting the truth,
being deceived by the son of perdition. in Antichrist religion. But Paul said, we are bound to
give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the
Lord. For He hath from the beginning
chosen you unto salvation through sanctification of the Spirit
and belief of the truth. Wherefore, wherefore, He calls
you by our Gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ. And then he says this in the
book of Jude, "...unto Him that is able to keep you from falling..." Oh my soul, we fall a thousand times a day. "...unto
Him that is able to keep you from falling, and not only that,
but to present you faultless before the presence of His glory
with exceeding joy." Satan is bound. It says he is bound now
by the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Gospels
given free course to all his elect. And so it shall continue
until such time as the Lord has purposed. And then Satan, he
says, shall be loosed for a little season. For a little season. To do what? To destroy God's
elect? No. He is bound. He is bound
from them. He is going to be loosed to again
deceive the nations. In that season, Amos prophesies
a great famine of the Word of God. And John likens it unto
God's witnesses lying dead in the street. Do you remember that
portion there in Revelation? Is he talking about that? That
is what he is talking about. Such a famine of the Word of
God, of the Gospel, is going to be present in this world that
it's going to appear as though God's witnesses were dead in
the street. No voice. No good news. The nations are going to again
be deceived. They're going to do exactly what
they did as it was declared in the Old Testament, they are going
to do what seems right in their own eyes and hearts. They are
going to mix the Word of God with heathen idolatry. They are
going to be influenced by and practice gross immorality. They shall, in the words of John,
wonder, that is, stand in amazement of the beast. And God shall put
it in their hearts to fulfill His will in giving their kingdom
unto the beast. They're going to willingly do
it. We saw some of that the other day, didn't we? In this very
country, we saw it. That's the way it's going to
be all over. That's the way it's going to
be all over. But God's elect shall not be deceived. They shall all hear and believe,
and none shall be moved away from the hope of the gospel.
He tells us in Hebrews 10, verse 39, We are not of them who draw
back unto perdition, but of them which believe to the saving of
the soul. Ralph Barnard said one time,
I do not anxiously fear what is to come, Because I've read
the end of the book and I know how things are going to turn
out. That's what this chapter is talking about. He's telling
us how things are going to turn out. My friend, we live in an
evil world. That's how God describes this
world in the Scripture. This present evil world. They're not going to stray. this
present evil world. It's an evil world because the
men and women who inhabit it are evil. That's why it's evil. There's nothing wrong with the
forest. There's nothing wrong with the grass. There's nothing
wrong with the oceans. Man's polluted it. Man's destroyed
it. The serpent slime is all over
creation. All over creation. It's an evil
world because of the men and women who inhabit it. They're
all evil. They're all fallen. The Scriptures
tell us that man is of a few days. Just a few days. His life
is no more than steam on a tea kettle. It's nothing in the light
of eternity. He's just of a few days and he's
full of trouble. Full of trouble. Everything he
knows and does is trouble. He's got trouble in his heart,
he's got trouble on his mind, and trouble is what he does. He's of a few days and he's full
of trouble. The scriptures tell us that we
go astray when? When we get about 13 or 14. We
go astray as soon as we be born speaking lies. That baby will
sit and cry and don't have a need in the world. It will sit and
whine and cry and you think it's dying. Checking it's diaper and
checking it's temperature and checking it, what's wrong with
this baby? Speaking lies. Speaking lies. The scriptures
tell us we go astray. And they describe man as a venomous
reptile in the scriptures. That's how it describes us. A
snake. I killed a snake in my backyard
the other day. We're like a snake, but a venomous
snake. His person, he said, is like
an open grave. His mouth is full of cursing
and bitterness. Destruction and misery is in
his ways. No fear of God before his eyes.
He don't even think twice about cursing God. Don't even think twice. We had
a young man I went to school with. I seen him stand out in
a thunderstorm, shake his fist up at God. If there be a God,
strike me dead. He will. He will. He ain't no
hurry. He ain't no hurry. The Scripture
says there's none righteous, none good, none that seeketh
after God, and none that understandeth. The Scripture said man at his
best state. at its best state, is altogether
vanity. And that all of us, all put together,
are as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags. My friends, salvation is more
than deliverance from hell. It's deliverance from hell. It
is deliverance from hell. But much more than that, it's
deliverance for the reason for hell, which is sin. Sin. Hell is where God sends sinners. That's where He sends them. Sends
them to hell. Brother Barnard said, there's
no other thing you can do with a mad dog except put him where
he can't do harm to anyone else. That's hell. Hell is where God
sends sinners, and rebels, and false prophets, and Satan, and
all of his cohorts. Sin is the reason for hell. And sin is what we are. It's what we are. Sin is a nature. Richard, why do you talk about
sin so much? Because you'll never understand
anything else I've got to say until God convinces you of sin. That's why. Sin is a nature. Those redeemed
by Christ, those who were once dead in trespasses and sin, it
says, were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Sin is a force. It's a powerful
influence. It's irresistible. It's an influential
force. It's a principality, a power
that reigns under death. Sin hath reigned under death. A fallen man's destiny is already
fixed. You know, people say, well, you're
the master of your own destiny. What a crock! Man's destiny is already fixed. He's not an open book. He's not
something we can make up as we go. If God does not intervene,
no man is going to ever be saved. No man. Now watch out, preacher. You're talking about man's responsibility
here. You're taking away man's responsibility. I'm not doing any such thing. I'm simply trying to tell you
that man is a helpless, hopeless sinner. living in a condemned world,
born in a spiritual leper colony, born with leprosy already in
him and around him, and even if he sees no evidence now, it's
going to come out. It's going to come out. And the only way out of this
mess we're in is that God has chosen a people unto salvation
for the glory of His great name. Boy, if it weren't for that,
God would have obliterated civilization when Adam fell. He chose them in a representative. He made provision for them in
a representative. He made on their behalf a covenant. Order, David said, in all things
and sure. And this covenant is sure because
Christ Himself is the surety. He's the surety. This covenant
is sure because it is based on His character, His works, His
person, His power, not mine. God's elect, it says, are predestinated
unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto Himself. Jesus Christ came into this world
to save His people from their sins. He bore their sins, literally
bore their sins in His own body on the tree. He took their place
before the holy law of God and wrought out for them a perfect
righteousness. As their high priest, He entered
into heaven itself with His own blood, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. My friend, there's no such thing
as universal love and universal atonement or universal salvation. That's a lie out of hell. The
Bible doesn't say who shall lay anything against the charge of
whosoever will. It says who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect. And that whole golden chain of
assurance there in Romans chapter 8 is directed to God's elect. All things don't work together
for good to everybody. It works together for good to
them who love God, who are the called according to His purpose. That's who He foreknew. That's
who He called. That's who He justified. That's
who He's going to glorify. And then He says, Who shall separate
us from the love of God? which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord. Now here's what I want you to see. Here in our text
in verse 6. It said, Blessed and holy is
he that hath part in the first resurrection. In that representative
who came down to this earth, who lived and died for us, and
who was raised for our justification and ascended up into glory. Blessed and holy is he that hath
part in this first resurrection. On such the second death hath
no power. But they shall be priests of
God in Christ, and shall reign with Him throughout this gospel
age. What then does it mean to have
part in the first resurrection? What in the world is he talking
about? To have part in something means
to have an interest. Somebody buys stock in General
Motors. He has a legal interest in that
company. If that company prospers, he
gets paid for it. His stocks rise up in value. If the company collapses, he
loses. He's got an interest in that
company. But maybe a better illustration
might be an heir. Some rich man, some powerful,
influential man, some famous, well-beloved man dies. And somebody
comes and tells you, you didn't know anything about it. You didn't
know him from man to man. And what he did and what he had
and what he was worth, it didn't mean diddly to you. Donald Trump
don't mean nothing to you. What if you found out you was
an heir? Somebody comes and tells you,
you are a legal heir of his estate. His person and promises, they
didn't mean anything to you yesterday, but now he's got your undivided
attention, don't he? You've got a part now in his
vast holdings. To have part in the first resurrection
is to discover by way of God's chosen ambassador that you are
an heir of God and a joint heir of Christ. It's to discover yourself
as His heirs are described in the Word of God. His heirs are
described in detail in the Word of God. Did you know that? That's
what we do. We discover in the Word of God
that we're heirs. We're heirs. How are God's heirs
described in the Word of God? Huh? They're described as helpless,
hopeless, blind beggars. That's His heirs. That's His
heirs. Sinners under the reign of sin. Old wretched man that I am. Huh? That's how they're described.
Listen to this. This is a faithful saying. and
worthy of all acceptation, Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners of whom I am chief." Am I an heir? I don't know. Are
you a sinner? Are you a helpless, hopeless
sinner? That's who He came to save. That's
how God's heirs are made now. Christ died, He said, for the
ungodly. Are you ungodly? He justifies, the Scripture says,
the ungodly. My soul. He said, the well need
not a physician, but the sick. He said, think not that I come
to call the righteous. I've not come to save the righteous. I've come to call sinners to
repentance. Well, the first evidence of an
arrogant God That he takes his place as the sinner. That's what
David said. You desire truth in the inward
part. And that the name of God be justified. That the truth of God be justified. David said, I take my place before
thee and thee only if I sinned and done this evil in thy sight.
He took his part as a sinner. He justified God in his own condemnation. The second evidence of an error
is submission. He's lost all confidence in himself. When you discover what you are
by nature, you'll lose all self-confidence. It'll go out the window. Oh,
you thought you were somebody. Boy, you won't when you find
out what you are. You won't cover your head when
you pass people. I thought when I was under conviction
of sin, I thought everybody in the room knew it. I thought they
could see me for what I was. Oh, my soul. A man loses all
confidence in himself, and now he is ready to hear. Now he is
ready to hear. He is not ready to argue anymore.
He is ready to hear. He is a man ready to listen to
a man tell him the way of salvation in the Word of God. Paul said, I know your election
of God, he told those Thessalonians, those heathen idolaters that
he went in and preached to. He said, I know your election
of God. That's what we're talking about.
Being able to understand who these heirs are. Discover that
you're an heir of Christ. And Paul said, I know your election
of God because you've become followers of us and the Lord.
Only his heirs will do that. The rest of them will go home
and say, who does he think he is? He thinks he's the only one on
the face of God's earth that knows the truth. His heirs don't say that. His
heirs shut up and listen. Thirdly, God's heirs are willing.
They're willing to be taught. They're willing to learn. They're
willing to drive. They're willing to listen. They're
willing to gather for worship. They're willing. They are willing. His people, David said in Psalm
110, verse 3, shall be willing in the day of His power. Willing to hear and willing to
be taught and willing to bow, willing to come to Christ, willing
to serve Christ, willing to give themselves to Christ. Total surrender. You remember that illustration
I gave you years ago about the pig and the chicken? They were
walking down the road. The boy was getting hungry. He was getting up in the day.
That chicken said, oh man, looky there. Bacon and eggs. $1.99. He said, let's go in here
and eat. The pig said, uh-uh, I ain't
going in there. He said, why not? He said, well,
for you, that's a contribution. He said, for me, that's total
surrender. Total surrender. That's how you
discover His heirs. They put their hands up. They
throw their hands up. Do with me what you will. Take
me where you will. Send me where you will. Not my
will, thy will be done. I've done seen what my will is.
I don't want to follow my will. I want His will. His will. And then fourthly, all His heirs. How do we know we're heirs? We
are sinners. We are sinners. And then fourthly,
all his heirs come to Christ. They all come to Him. They all
rest in Him. They all believe on Him. They
all rejoice in Him. All that the Father giveth me,
He tells us over in John chapter 6. I think it is verse 38. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. and him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out." He tells us, here is the will of
God, that is His will and testament, the will and testament of God
toward His elect. This is the Father's will which
is sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth
on Him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up
again at the last day. Am I there? I don't know. Do
I come to Christ? Can you come to Christ? Can you
believe on Him? Throw your hands up. Give up. Stack your shotguns in the corner.
The war is over. I'll raise Him up at the last
day. To have part in the first resurrection is to believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ. The first resurrection is Christ.
He is the first begotten from the dead. He is the firstfruits
of them that slept. And by virtue of our union with
Him, we are raised up together with Him, made to sit together
with Him in the heavens. And His departed saints are pictured
here in this book of Revelations as reigning with Him. actively
engaged with Him in heaven itself. I don't fully understand exactly
what that's talking about there in verse 4, but it indicates
an active participation. You look at it. You give it some
thought. Give it some prayer. Actively engaged. Paul said,
don't you know we're going to judge this world? I don't think much about that,
do you? It don't even seem possible, and yet here they are with Him,
reigning on His throne with Him, actively engaged in the judgment
of this world. In fact, we're described in the
Scripture as blessed and holy. Blessed in Christ with all spiritual
blessings, and holy in Christ, and unblameable, and unreprovable. in God's sight. But brethren,
here's the good news. Blessed and holy is he that hath
part in the first resurrection. On such, the second death hath
no power. No power. No power to condemn. No power to curse. No power to
incarcerate. No power to corrupt. No power
to bind or to judge. No power. Not only are God's
saints free from condemnation and death, but they are now with
Him, having a part in His resurrection. Priests of God and of Christ
and reigning with Him. I don't know what folks think
when they hear the Gospel. I don't know what they I think
we require them. I don't know if they think we're
talking about them joining the church. I don't know what goes
through their mind. I suppose it's all in what you've
heard and been taught in days gone by. But I'm not doing any
of those things this morning. I'm trying to point you to the
all-sufficient reigning Redeemer. The only way out of the mess
you're in, the way to glory, The way to everlasting life.
I'm trying to point you to Him. Will you come to Him? And if not, why not? What is
it you see so valuable in this world that restrains you from
coming to Christ? What is it? What is it you think
you can have, you think you can see, you think you can do, that
could render more benefit to you than coming to Him? Come to Christ. Take your place
as a sinner. Own up to your sin before God.
Confess to Him what you are and believe on His Son. He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
The man who can find his part in the resurrection of Christ
has found a place of comfort He found a place of peace. He
found a place of rest. And on such, the second death
had no power. It doesn't even cause him an
anxious thought. If I'm in Christ, I'm seated
with Him in the heavens. And death is just an open door
into glory. That's all it is. But oh, if
I'm not in Christ, oh, my soul. Come to Him. Come to Him. Receive
Him. Embrace Him. Believe on Him.