Revelation chapter 20. I'm taking
the title for the message from the last part of verse 4. Revelation
20 verse 4. And they lived and they reigned
with Christ. Now what a glorious future every
believer has. They lived with Christ. In Him
we live and move and have our being. And they reigned with
Christ, being one with Him, And they did so during this whole
gospel age. And it will be for eternity and
eternity. Living and reigning with Christ
in glory. What will that be? What will
that be like? What a glorious future every
believer has and can with great confidence, according to the
scripture, look forward unto. Reigning with the Lord being
with the Lord, living with Him. No wonder David writes in Psalm
116, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his
saints. That's something God considers
to be precious. We studied in Revelation 14,
blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. Now that's a blessing. It didn't say blessed are those
who die. Blessed are those who die in the Lord, in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And then Paul, when he writes
from jail to the Philippians, he said, for me to live is Christ.
For me to live, that's Christ. Christ in me. To die, he said,
is gain. It's not loss. It's gain. It's
gain. When a believer dies in the Lord,
it's an answer to the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ. who
ever lived to intercede for us. Remember, he prayed in John 17.
He prayed for his people. He says, Father, you've given
me power over all flesh that I should give eternal life to
as many as thou hast given to me. And then the Lord prayed
in that same prayer. He said, he prayed for us. He
said, Father, I will also whom thou hast given me be with me
where I am that they may behold my glory, which thou gavest me
For thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. That's
the answer to the Lord's prayer. When a believer dies, they go
to be with the Lord and they behold His glory now and forever
and ever. They're living and reigning with
the Lord Jesus Christ, sitting upon the throne that God has
provided for us. You remember He said, I go away
to prepare a place for you? If I go away and prepare a place
for you, I'll come again and receive you to Myself that where
I am, that's where I want to be. Where I am, there you may
be also. Now, in Revelation 20, and I'm
going to go back and review for just a moment. In verse 3, we
see that the Lord Jesus Christ in His incarnation coming among
men to complete the work the father had given him to do. He
cast the devil, Satan, bound him 1,000 years. He cast him
into the bottomless pit, shut him up, set a seal upon him that
he should deceive the nations no more till the 1,000 years
be fulfilled. And after that, he must be, as
I emphasized in reading, he must be let loose for a little season. As it says in verse 7, when the
1,000 years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.
It must be because God said it shall be. It shall be. Now, I
like the language here, what our Lord did to our enemy. He
cast him into the bottomless pit. And it's not a hole in the
ground. It's not even hell. It's a kingdom
of darkness. It's a realm of darkness. He
shut him up, confined him, set a seal upon him. He could not
break it. that he should deceive the nations no more. That is,
the Gentile nations. The Gentile nations, before the
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, how many Gentiles were believers? Very few. There were some. Very
few. Israel had the covenant, the
priesthood, and the law, all those things. that he should
deceive the nations no more, the Gentile nation, the pagan
nation. God, we know, has an elect out of every nation, tongue,
people under heaven that he will call out with the gospel. Our
risen Lord said to his disciples, go into all the world and preach
the gospel to everybody, to everyone. He that believeth and is baptized,
he that believeth what? The gospel. He that believeth
the gospel and is baptized shall be saved. Satan, therefore, we
give thanks, is locked up until the Lord is pleased by his sovereign
will, purpose, and decree to release him for a short season,
for a little while, and then final judgment will come. His
final destruction will take place in due time, in God's time. Look at verse 10. And the devil
that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet shall be tormented day
and night forever and ever." That unholy trio, the devil The
beast out of the sea, the beast out of the earth, which is the
same as the false prophet, that unholy trio will be forever,
forever condemned and tormented forever and ever. When and how
this binding of Satan, how did it take place, when and how?
It was while the Lord Jesus Christ tabernacled among us in the flesh
that the Lord Jesus Christ came to bind Satan. Came to bind him. When did this binding take place?
We went over this last week, but let me mention to you briefly.
Four things, I think. In His incarnation, when He came,
God manifested in the flesh. And in the temptation in the
wilderness, the Lord bound Satan by the Word of God. You remember
every time Satan tempted the Lord Jesus Christ, how did the
Lord rebuke him? He rebuked him with the Word.
The Word of the Lord. So there we see the beginning
of Satan being bound. And then in the Garden of Gethsemane,
the Lord Jesus Christ broke power of Satan's temptation not to
die upon the cross. The Lord prayed, not my will,
thy will be done. Remember one time when the Lord
told the disciples, I must go to Jerusalem, I must be killed,
I must be raised again. And Peter stood forth and said,
no way! You're not going to Jerusalem.
You're not going to die. This can't happen. Remember what the
Lord said to him? Get out of my way, Satan. Get
out of my way. You don't savor the things that
be of God. The Lord Jesus Christ, He said,
no man takes my life. I lay it down. I lay it down.
I have power to do so, and I have power to take it again. So there,
the Lord Jesus Christ broke Satan's or bound Satan by breaking that
dominion of tempting him not to die for our sin, according
to Scripture. And then certainly, the Lord
Jesus Christ, by His triumphant death at Calvary, did bind Satan
up. Now I read this last week to
you, but let me just quote it to you again. In John chapter
12, Verse 31, 32, and 33, the Lord there is talking about his
atoning death. As a corn of wheat falls into
the ground, even so must a son of man die that there would be
much fruit to come forth. He said, now is the judgment
of this world. Now shall the prince of this
world be cast out. If I be lifted up, and talking
about being crucified, from the earth will draw all unto me. This, he said, signifying what
death he should die. So there at Calvary, the Lord
Jesus Christ, by putting away our sin, He crushed. You remember
we read in Genesis 3, verse 15, that the seed of the woman would
crush Satan's dominion and power. His humanity is healed would
be bruised. That is the Lord Jesus Christ.
But the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified crushed Satan's
dominion over sin, putting away our sin. Now in Christ, sin has
no power over us. The second death has no power,
as we read a moment ago. And then, the Lord's resurrection
glory. He bound Satan. Satan couldn't
keep the Lord Jesus Christ in the grave, could he? He said,
I'm He that liveth and was dead. Behold, I'm alive forevermore.
And then when the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to glory, when
He ascended to glory and sat down on the throne, the God-man
mediator bound Satan's power to deceive God's people. Now, every script of Scripture,
every text of Scripture in reference to Satan being bound, is in reference
to the Lord's first coming, not his second. In his second coming,
Satan will be forever destroyed, along with the beast, the false
prophet, and all unbelievers, as we read in verse 10 just a
moment ago. During this thousand year period,
in this gospel age in which we live right now, Satan's influence
is in the world, but he's bound and unable to prevent the spread
of the gospel. He is bound and unable to withstand
the calling out of God's elect with the gospel. He's bound and
unable to hinder the growth of the church and our growth in
grace. Now, who did that? We didn't
do that. The Lord God Almighty did that. You remember he said to Peter,
Upon this rock I'll build my church, and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it." Satan has been bound by God Almighty
through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now Satan is not bound in reference
to all men. Many are deceived, but toward
the elect of God, He is bound, He cannot harm us, He cannot
deceive us, He cannot accuse us, and He cannot bring us into
condemnation. Now, that's good news. Thanks
be to God who has given us the victory through the Lord Jesus
Christ. We're more than conquerors through Him that have loved us.
Now, many people are deceived. The Apostle Paul writes this,
For if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost,
and whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them
which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of God
should shine unto them. Many are deceived." And that's
Satan's cheap business. He's in the business of deceiving
men. deceiving men with religious
thoughts and with religious deeds. He cannot prevent the spread
of the gospel or the calling out of the elect until the thousand
years are finished, until all the elect of God are called out.
Then and only then will he be loose for this little season.
Now, let's turn and read this. Turn over here to Matthew 24.
Matthew 24. I tell you exactly when the end
is coming. Preachers, you can't do that.
I tell you exactly when the end is coming. Look here at Matthew
24, verse 14. And this gospel of the kingdom
shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations. Then the end is coming. Now that's when it's coming.
When the gospel has been preached in all the world, then the Lord
is coming back. Now look at verse 21, same chapter. Matthew 24, verse 21, for then
shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning
of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be, except those
days be shortened. There shall no flesh be saved,
but for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened, loose
for a little season. Then if any man shall say unto
you, lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not, For there shall
rise false Christ, false prophet, shall show great signs and wonders
as much that if it were possible, they should deceive the very
elect. Behold, I've told you before, wherefore, if they shall
say unto you, behold, he's in the desert, go not forth. Behold,
he's in the secret chambers, believe it not, for as the lightning
cometh out of the east and shineth unto the west, so shall also
the coming of the Son of Man be. For wheresoever the carcass
is, the body is, there the eagles will be gathered." Now he's talking
about the gathering of God's elect to the body, the Lord Jesus
Christ. And we're eagles. He gives us
eagle wings to fly unto Him. So, when is the Lord coming back? When the gospel is preached in
all the world and God calls out His last elect, when He calls
the last of the elect out, the Lord comes. Just as soon as that lightning
flashes across the sky. When Paul closes his letter to
the book of Romans, He writes this gospel promise. The God
of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. We're not waiting the day
when Satan will be bound and Christ will be King. Jesus Christ
is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He's King of Kings and
Lord of Lords. The sovereign Lord over all.
Satan is bound. And when the Lord comes back
again the second time, He will be forever destroyed. This is
a glorious, comforting truth to the elect of God. The Lord
Jesus Christ is the sovereign King. Satan is the defeated foe. And we are more than conquerors
through Him that loved us. Now, Satan is no match for us,
is he? He's a wily adversary. But the
Lord Jesus Christ has taken our enemy on and has defeated him.
Now, that gets us down to verse 4. 5 and 6. So let's look at
these verses for a moment or two. While the church lives upon
the earth during this thousand year, this gospel age, during
this last days in which we live, what about those believers who
have died, resting and believing in Christ? Where are they right
now in this present gospel age? Our dear loved ones who have
believed the gospel and the Lord has called them out, where are
they now? When we know where their body
is, we place their bodies in the
ground. But that's not where they are. They are with the Lord. They are with the Lord Jesus
Christ. Isn't that comforting? Now these
verses tell us about them. They're in glory, reigning with
Christ. I saw thrones. And they sat upon
them, and judgment was given unto them, that is, they judged
this world through the gospel in Christ. And I saw the souls
of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, the Savior,
for the word of God, which had not worshipped the beast, had
not partaken of his image, worshipped his image, idolatry, neither
had received the mark in their forehead or in their hand, And
they lived and reigned with Christ right now. Living and reigning
with the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who die in faith, die in
Christ. And they immediately go to be
with the Lord Jesus Christ. To be absent from this body,
we read a moment ago. is what? To be present with the
Lord, precious in His sight, or the death of His saints. Now notice several things here
from verse 4. They sat upon thrones. Now the
Lord Jesus Christ, when He by Himself purged our sin, what
happened? He sat down on the right hand of the throne of God.
Believers are already seated in the heavenlies in the Lord
Jesus Christ. We're so one with Him and so
in union with Him. What's true of the head is true
of the body. Where He is, that's where we are. They sat upon them thrones. Death
to the believer is not punishment, it's privilege. It's promotion. It's reward. I repeat what I said. To die
is gain for the believer. The apostles said, I'd rather
depart and be with the Lord, which is far better. They are
with the Lord, reigning and judging right now with Christ in the
Gospel. And whatever He does, they say,
Amen. They say, Amen. We've seen some
hints of this. Turn back to Revelation 3. Revelation
3. Look at verse 19. Revelation
3 verse 19. He said, as many as I love, I
rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore and repent.
Revelation 3, 19. Behold, I stand at the door and
knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come
in and will sup with him and he with me. To him that overcometh,
how do we overcome? By the blood of the Lamb. I will
grant to sit with me in my throne even as I also overcame, and
am sat down with my Father in His throne. He that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." So,
where are they? They are with the Lord, seated
in the heavenlies, in the Lord Jesus Christ. What a glorious
future we have. What a glorious enjoyment our
dear loved ones have right now in Christ. Turn to Revelation
14. Turn over there. Revelation 14. Look at verse 1. And I looked,
and lo, a lamb stood on Mount Zion with them a hundred and
forty-four thousand, having the Father's name in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven,
and as a voice of many waters, a voice of great thunder, and
I heard the voice of harpers harping with harps. And they
sung, as it were, a new song before the throne, before the
four beasts, the elders, and no man could learn that song
but the hundred and forty-four thousand. which were redeemed
from the earth. These are they which were not
defiled with women. They are virgins, for they are
they which follow the Lamb. And whosoever he goeth, these
were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God
and unto the Lamb. They are with the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, I can't overemphasize this
thing about union with Christ, being one with Him. You remember
he prayed in John 17, Father, I in them and thou in me that
we may be made perfect in one. We're one in Him. And where He
is, that's where we are. And where He is, that's where
we want to be. In the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the second thing
we see about these believers, they had given their lives as
a faithful witness of the gospel. They would not bow to the religion
of the beast. They loved not their lives unto
death. They would rather die than deny or compromise the gospel
of Christ. They'd rather die. And they had
the testimony of the Lord. Turn back to Revelation 12, verse
9. Revelation 12, verse 9. And they
willingly gave their life, as Stephen did, as a martyr. as
James and John and John the Baptist and Peter and Paul, they were
all martyred for the gospel. If you look at Revelation 12
verse 9, the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called
the devil, and Satan, which deceived the whole world, and was cast
out into the earth. and his angels were cast out
with him. And I heard a loud voice saying, In heaven now is
come salvation, strength, the kingdom of our God, and the power
of his Christ. For the accuser of the brethren
is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb, by the word
of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death."
They weren't afraid to die. They weren't afraid to die. You
can go back and read some of the account of those martyrs
who died, and they died rejoicing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Many
in that day died as martyrs, didn't they? Many in that day
died as martyrs for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't
turn, let me just read this to you. When the fifth seal was
opened in chapter 6, verse 9, I saw under the altar the souls
of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony
which they held. And they cried with a loud voice,
saying, How long, O Lord, holy, true, dost thou not judge and
avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? The day of
vengeance. Vengeance belongeth unto the
Lord. Now many gave their lives for the gospel with a witness,
verse 4, and for the Word of God. And they had not participated,
that is, they were delivered from the bondage of Satan, They
had not received the mark of the beast in their hand, their
head, and they lived and reigned with the Lord Jesus Christ forever
and ever. The apostle John, when he writes
this, is the only apostle left. And he's been cast out of society
for the gospel. And persecuted unto death. Remember
how the book starts in Revelation chapter 1? He said, I was cast
out and persecuted because of the gospel. These men refused
to bow to the idols of men, they refused to compromise, they would
not receive the mark of the beast in their forehead or in their
hand, but rather they declared salvations of the Lord. May God
give us the same spirit of conviction, of heart, the glory only in the
Lord Jesus Christ. And stand fast, stand firm, not
to compromise. To contend for the faith once
delivered unto the saints. The third thing we see, they
lived and reigned with Christ this thousand year period. This
thousand year period. It says that twice. They lived
and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The last part of verse
four. And down to verse six. They shall be priests of God.
He's made us kings and priests unto our God. And we shall reign
with Him this thousand thousand years. Now, again, this is not
talking something future. Turn back to Revelation chapter
1. This is talking about the departed saints, who are in glory
right now with Christ, who are kings and priests unto our God
right now. And that shall be now and forever.
But look at Revelation chapter 1 verse 5. Jesus Christ, who
is a faithful witness, verse 5, Revelation 1, first begotten
of the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth, unto
him who loved us and washed us from our sin, and hath made us
kings and priests unto our God. and His Father. To Him be glory
and dominion forever and ever. Amen. He's made us kings and
priests unto our God through His blood atonement. Turn to
Revelation chapter 5. Revelation 5, look at verse 9.
And they sung a new song saying, Revelation 5 verse 9, Thou art
worthy to take the book, to open the seals thereof, for Thou was
slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every
kindred, tongue, people, nation, and has made us unto our God
kings and priests, and we shall reign on this earth." Now, He's
going to make a new heaven and a new earth, and we will reign
with Him on this new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
righteousness. Believers are so one with Him
and so in union with Him, What's true of Him is true of us. Where
He is, that's where we are in Him. Believers, look at verse
6 now. Skip down to verse 6. We'll come
back to verse 5 in a minute. Believers are blessed because
they're blessed in Christ. They are holy because they're
holy in Christ. Blessed is he that hath part
in that first resurrection. On such a second death hath no
power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall
reign with Him a thousand, this thousand year period time. The first resurrection. Now what's
he talking about here? Believers who have died in the
Lord are with the Lord, they're blessed now and forever, they're
as holy as God, made so in Christ. And the first resurrection is
this. We are born in this world, how? Dead in sin, right? Dead
in sin. Without God, without hope, and
without Christ. There must be that first resurrection
that we might be partakers of that eternal resurrection in
the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what happens when
God saves a sinner. He raises us up from the dead. You hath He quickened who were
dead. He gives us spiritual life. He makes us new creatures in
Christ Jesus. This is the work of God that
He does in us. in us, and those who have experienced
His spiritual resurrection, being raised from the dead, and Adam
all died, and Christ shall all be made alive, on those who have
experienced His spiritual resurrection, the second death hath no power,
hath no power to condemn, because the Lord Jesus Christ..." What
does sin bring forth? Death. The Lord Jesus Christ
took care of our sin. He did a work for us. He does a work of grace in us.
And because He put away our sin, death hath no power over the
believer. That's true, the body is going
to die, but it's not going to stay dead. There's going to be
a glorious resurrection of this body when our soul is reunited
with this body, and then we'll forever be with the Lord and
enjoy Him forever and ever. And he said, comfort ye one another
with these words. The second death hath no power. What is that second death? Look
at verse 14. And death and hell, death and
the grave were cast into the lake of fire. This is a second
death. This is eternal death. Now, let's go back to verse 5
for just a moment and I'll let you go with this. The rest of
the dead. Now here he's talking about a
whole other group of people. The rest of the dead, those who
have not been and have not experienced that first resurrection, that
being raised and quickened together with Christ Jesus. The rest of
the dead, they live not again while the thousand years were
finished. This is the first resurrection.
Now, what I get from this, those who have died without Christ,
They don't go to be with the Lord. They go to a place of darkness
and condemnation without Christ. The rest of the dead live not
again till the thousand years were finished. Now, let me read
what I've got here so I don't get confused. The rest of the
dead, he's talking about the wicked dead. Live not again. There will be a resurrection
of the just and the unjust. There'll be a resurrection of
those who have done good unto eternal life. There'll be a resurrection
of condemnation to those who have not believed the gospel.
Those who die in their sin will be raised in their sin. judged
in their sin, forever damned in their sin. Our Lord says,
if you believe not that I am He, you'll die in your sin. Now, turn one page and look at
this with me. In Revelation 22, verse 11. If you die in your sin, you'll
be raised in your sin. You'll face judgment in your
sin. Look what it says in Revelation 22, verse 11. He that is unjust,
let him be unjust still. He which is filthy, let him be
filthy still. He that is righteous, made righteous
in Christ, let him be righteous still. He that is holy, let him
be holy still. Behold, I come quickly, my reward
is with me, to give every man according to his works. I am
Alpha, Omega, beginning, the end, the first, and the last.
Believers will be rewarded according to the work of the Lord Jesus
Christ. in Him, in Christ alone. When an unbeliever dies, he does
not cease to exist. And we know that from what the
Lord teaches in Luke chapter 16, when He gave that parable
of the rich man who died, and in hell he lifted up his eyes,
being in torment. So it wasn't a place of non-existence,
it was a place of torment. They're awaiting final and eternal
judgment. As Paul said in Hebrews 9, it's
appointed unto man once to die, but after that, judgment, judgment. Those who do not have a part
in that first resurrection, there's nothing left but judgment. Judgment,
judgment. I've read this to you many times,
and let me repeat it to you. And to you who are troubled,
rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
with His mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them
that know not God, that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord, from the glory of His power,
when He shall become when he shall come to be glorified in
his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe, because
our testimony among you was believed in that day. May God help us
all to believe the gospel, to trust the Lord Jesus Christ alone
for all of our salvation, all of our righteousness before God.
All of our pardon of sin. All of our justification. Whom
do you trust? We had on the radio program this
morning from Jeremiah 17. Cursed is a man that trusteth
in the flesh, that maketh his flesh his hope. Blessed is that
man that trusteth in the Lord. He shall be like a tree planted
by the waters of life and shall be forever blessed in the Lord
Jesus Christ.