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Well, howdy, and welcome to Emmanuel Baptist Church. I want to introduce a special guest this morning, Jim Ayres. Would you just please stand so people can see you? Jim Ayers has really spent a decade over in Malawi and was instrumental in us being there and has done a wonderful job of equipping men all over Central Africa to handle God's Word.

And so he is with us. You've heard a lot about Malawi and his son, I want to embarrass him. Caleb, where are you? There he is, right here. His son is thinking about coming to AM. And so be in prayer that the Lord would open their eyes and let them know where they're supposed to be pre-appointed before the foundation of the earth.

Sorry, I don't want to be. Please stand for the reading of God's Word. I want to read Psalm 1, and then I'm going to read Psalm 2. The two really, Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 are a pair that really introduce the whole Psalter. So I want to begin with Psalm 1.

How blessed is the man who does not walk? In the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.

And in whatever he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 2. Why are the nations in an uproar, and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, And let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us.

He who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then he will speak to them in his anger and terrify them in his fury, saying, But as for me, I have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain. I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord.

He said to me, You are. My son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will surely give the nations as your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, you shall shatter them like earthenware.

Now, therefore, O kings, show discernment. Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence, and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that he not become angry and you perish in the way, for his wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all those who take refuge in him.

Let's pay. Heavenly Father, we do come before you, thanking you for another day, thanking you for your goodness, thanking you for the way you've set before us. It's a good way, it's a right way, it's a blessed way, Father, and that way is in paying homage to your Son, giving him tribute, giving him the honor due to his name.

And, Father, we thank you that you also have laid before us the way of the unrighteous, the way of the wicked. And, Father, we recognize that you have purposed and determined that such a way will come to an end. Father, I pray this morning for all of those here.

Today, who are still in that way of the wicked, Father, that that would change today. By your Spirit, you would call them out of the path that you are going to destroy, along with all those in it. Father, and it is right and good that you bring an end to the way of the wicked.

And Father, that would be us if it were not for your grace and mercy. But we have gathered here today because you have called us out of the dark way and into your way, the way of your Son. Oh, how blessed are all those who take refuge in him.

And that is what we have done, Father. We come to you confessing our sins to you this morning, recognizing we do not deserve a right to be in your presence. But because of your great grace, we can expect that we will be accepted in your presence because of the merits of your Son.

And so it's on that basis that we come this morning. We pay tribute to you. We want to worship you this morning in heart and soul and corporately together. One voice. May you be exalted here this morning. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, once again, good morning. And please turn in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 20.

Revelation chapter 20, we are. Nearing the end. No, we're at the end, and we're about to enter those two chapters where Satan's just isn't there anymore. Two chapters at the beginning of the Bible, Satan's influence wasn't there. Two chapters at the end where Satan's influence isn't there. And we're right at that pivot point, beginning in verse 11.

So I want to look at Revelation chapter 20, beginning in verse 11. And let me just read those to you. Verse 11. Then I saw a great white throne, and him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and no place was found for them.

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it.

And death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them. And they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Well, you know, spring is about to spring. May not feel like it today, but it is. And if you came onto my property today, just looking at my garden, you might think I have a vision for weeds being in it. My struggles with my garden are ongoing. But I really don't have a vision for weeds in my garden.

If you look around my property, you might think I have a vision for a bunch of dead trees and limbs laying around. Well, I don't. Many of you probably have properties that look similar at this time. We had that drought, many downed trees, that kind of thing. I have a vision for my property, and I can assure you it doesn't involve dead limbs or dead leaves or dead weeds, but living trees.

So part of my vision is a burn pile. It's big. So, lumberjack night, there's going to be a fire, a big one. But that image. You look just looking at my property, and I bet you many of you have similar things going on on yours. You have a vision for your property, and it doesn't involve all the dead.

And there may even be a burn pile. Well, that's what I've been doing: gathering limbs, gathering the weeds, gathering the brush, and piling them up. Why do you think we throw things into the fire? We don't want them anymore. I have no vision for all these dead limbs for my property going forward.

I have no vision for the weeds. Well, I don't want them taking up space. Well, I can assure you that this image that I just described to you, Jesus picks up many times. And what he's communicating with this illustration is that God has a vision for the new heavens and the new earth and for those who dwell in it.

And there are certain entities that are not going to be part of the new heavens and the new earth. And that's really what verses 7 through 15 is about in chapter 20. See, the first part of chapter 20 is about this millennium. Thousand years. And then, beginning in chapter 21, we read these words.

Then I saw a new heavens and a new earth. So when Christ comes at his first advent, there is this period, this thousand years. And then in chapter 21 comes the eternal state. And in between those two major events is the judgment. The judgment. You remember Jesus Christ's second advent, this 1,000 years, is compared to a wedding feast following a wedding, like a wedding supper, a marriage supper.

And that's what those thousand years are about. Christ's second advent, he comes and he reigns over the present earth. But then, chapter 21, we have a new heavens and a new earth. And like any wedding reception or wedding celebration, it comes to an end. And then the couple goes and they live together happily ever after in their new home together.

Well, in between these, as I said, there is the judgment. And first, we looked at this last time: the judgment of Satan himself. When the thousand years are completed, Satan. Satan will be released from his prison. Verse 7: He will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war.

The number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also.

And they will be tormented day and night forever. That's where Satan goes. And in our passage today, we go on to read about and study the judgment of the dead. He has dealt with Satan, he has dealt with the beast, he has dealt with the false prophet in the lake fire.

Satan has been hurled into the lake of fire himself like a ballistic missile, thrown in through the lake of fire. And now there's another detail. So it's clear that God doesn't have a vision for Satan being in the new heavens and the earth. But there's a whole other mass of humanity and other things that will not be part of the new heavens and the new earth.

As I read just a little while ago, we know that God has purposed that there's going to be an end of. Way of evil. Not just the end of the spirit of evil, but the very way of evil and all those who are caught up in its way.

Psalm 1:6, for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Psalm 2:12, do homage to the Son, that he not become angry, and you perish in the way. For his wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in him.

What is evil? Not paying homage to the Son. You see, every moment and every day is to be a tribute to God. Whether that tribute is expressed in gratitude, in deference to his opinion, his ways, or simply delight in him and his son, his glory, his goodness, all of life is to be an expression of homage to him.

But you see, there is a spirit in this world, now is, that refuses. He refuses not only to honor God, not to honor God's Son, but he also bows up against him. That's the spirit of evil. And so, Such spirit often wells up inside of us. Would you agree?

A spirit that wells up, that not only doesn't want to pay homage to Christ, but bows up against God and His way. Such is the way of evil. Such is what you and I are called out of, and completely out of and following His Son. You see, God has a vision for the new heavens and the new earth, and He has a vision for those who dwell in it.

So today we read about those who are allied with Satan, those who are of the same spirit as Satan, those who will not pay homage to His Son, those who will bow up against Him. Today, we look at their fate, and their fate is exactly the same as Satan's fate, and there's good reason for it.

And so, this is one of those passages. We're at that great white throne judgment. Many would call that. You've heard it called that before. It is a magnificent. It is an epic. It is. World changing. And it's one of those passages that you just have to look at it the way it's given.

So I'm not, I don't have a fancy outline. I just simply want us to look at what John saw so that you and I will come completely out of this way of evil and be quick to pay homage to the Son with all that we are, and that we would take all of our lives and live them as one big tribute and testimony and homage to God's Son.

So very simple. We're just going to look at what it says. First of all, we'll see what John saw. John saw the judge. Look at verse 11. Notice how it says, Then I saw. Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it from whom fled away and no place was found for them.

The judge. First thing John sees is the judge. Who is this? Well, it's clearly the Father sitting upon his throne. But it's also clear that the Son is there with him. If you look at Revelation 3 and verse 21, Jesus said these words, He who over I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne as I overcame and sat down with my father on his throne.

Also, notice in chapter 22 and verse 1. Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb. So it's clearly throughout the book, it's the Father, but the Son is also there in the midst.

It's a shared throne. It's God sitting on the throne, and judgment is being mediated through the Son. Just as salvation is being mediated through the Son, so judgment is mediated through the Son. We'll look at that tonight as we come back to Revelations on Revelation. You know what that is about.

I want to preach through Revelation, so I want to emphasize what's being emphasized in this passage. But tonight, we need to go spend a little more time looking at Revelations. That is, other passages of Scripture that are also speaking to the same events in Revelation. So Revelations on Revelation.

Come back tonight because we'll go, this is an epic passage, we'll go deeply more into verses that are also pointing to these same realities. But here we want to pay attention to what's happening here and with the emphasis being stressed here. This is God sitting upon. On the throne.

And notice from whose presence earth and heaven fled away. Presence, some of your verses, some of your translations may say something like appearance or countenance or face. In my quiet time this morning, I was reading from Psalm 118:7, and it said, The earth shook and the mountains trembled because God was angry.

And here it's in this same context. We're talking about judgment here. This is a context of judgment. And his face, his countenance is one of anger, judgment. And it's no wonder earth and heaven flee. It says, no place was found for them. You remember in chapter 12 and verse 8 when there was war in heaven and it was a no-contest battle.

Very quickly, Michael and his angels hurled down Satan and all of his demons. There was no place found for them in heaven anymore. Same kind of language is spoken about earth and heaven. This is the disappearance of the present order, the disintegration of the existence. Universe going out.

2 Peter 3:10 says this, but the day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat and the earth and its works burned up. And keep in mind, this is not some shock and awe or fireworks for drama.

This is the passing away of the old order to make way for the new. The old is about to pass out, pass away. The new is about to come, and the judgment is happening right between the two. It's a unique manifestation of God's countenance, of his presence, presence to judge.

You see, if heaven and earth can't stand his presence at this time, how dreadful it's going to be. How dreadful it will be for the sinner. This is the scary place where the second death is going to be revealed. It's ominous. Even heaven and earth don't want to be there.

And this is the one. To whom we will all give an account. And how blessed are those who pay homage and take refuge in his Son. Well, this is the judge. First, John sees the judge. Second, John sees the judged. Look at verse 12. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne.

And books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead, which were in it. And death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them.

And they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds. Notice that he sees those who will be judged. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Who are the dead? Well, these are the ones who have no spiritual relationship with God.

It includes all of those who, at the end of the millennium, rise up in revolt, are inspired once again by Satan as he is released and he goes out into deceive. It will involve all of those. It will involve all of those before the millennium who rose in revolt.

And came together at Armageddon. But it will also involve all people of all times who died without Christ. And if you are not in Christ, this will be you. It includes you. You see, those who refuse to pay homage to the Son, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness in the here and now, are dead to God.

That's why they refuse to pay homage, is because they are dead to God, like Satan is dead to God. But what a scene. The universe gone, but people left before the throne. After the disappearance of the universe, you have people. The dead have been resurrected and have to stand before God.

And by the way, I know there are a number of people who will point to this and say, well, this is the general one judge, there's just one judgment. We're all going to be here, and there's righteous and there are the unrighteous here at this same time. The problem with that is this context is solidly about judgment.

But another thing, it's the righteous have already been resurrected. Look back at verse 4. Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshipped a beast or his image and had not received a mark on their forehead and on their hand, and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

The first resurrection has already taken place. The holy and the blessed are part of that first resurrection. This resurrection takes place after the thousand years. And it's in a context of judgment. And it's clear, just from Revelation, and we'll look more at this tonight as we look at the revelations on Revelation, but just it's clear in the context of Revelation itself that judgment happens in phases.

You remember you had the martyrs in Seal 5, they were given away. White robe. Wait, there was a judgment that was already made at that point for them concerning them. And then you see in chapter 19, you see the bride of Christ coming with him as an army, clothed in white, righteous deeds.

There's already been a determination. The marriage supper of the Lamb, the marriage of the Lamb has already taken place. A judgment. So with the righteous, throughout, there are phases. But here we read about the dead, those who had no part in the first resurrection. You see, they have to stand before him.

And now is the second resurrection. Even though it's not explicitly stated, it is implied. The first resurrection, and now you see, are witnessing the second resurrection. And they are the dead, the great and small. The great ones, the small ones, the whole spectrum of those of all time who are spiritually dead to God.

That's who's in this picture. And the whole purpose for their resurrection is so that they will receive their sentence. This is the great day, the great day of God's judgment upon. The wicked. So, John, first of all, he sees those who are going to be judged, and then he sees how they will be judged.

Look at back at verse 12. And books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds. Books, okay, books, books are written records, right? Written records. Perhaps it includes principles of judgments, God's revelation, fixed laws, expectations, statutes, precepts, testimonies.

Certainly, that may be among the book, but the whole criteria for judgment, the registries, the recorded facts of history, one book, or books contain the works and the deeds, have recorded everything that was done in secret, everything that is done. All you see, you have to have the right facts and the right principles in order to make a proper judgment.

And those books are all there. Everything needed. But the point with these books is judgment is not going to be based upon a whim or vague recollections or some kind of selected memory. That's how we often do things. We'd like to. Forget the things that we don't want to admit, whatever, and we have a selected memory.

That's not going to be the case. The judgment, this judgment, is going to be based upon historical facts with all the minutiae detail, all the established principles of God's word, God's righteousness, and the whole heavenly code of conduct. All of that is there in these books. But there's one book that is prominent.

You see, look back. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. And this is certainly the most prominent one. This is the conclusive one. This is where the registry of names are kept. And perhaps the other books are playing a supported role. Here is the conclusion.

Here is the registry of names who are in life. All these others are the supporting documentation that validate the judgment. These are the living ones. Notice the phrase: they were judged from the things written in the books according to their deeds. This is the basis of judgment, according to their deeds.

God's perfect standards, perfect knowledge of their lives. How are they going to line up? Deeds. Deeds. And some would say, well, this proves that God is, that salvation is based on deeds or human merit. No. What this is teaching is condemnation is based upon human deeds. The salvation is by grace alone, in Christ alone.

And our deeds testify to what has taken place. Likewise, condemnation, the deeds testify to the condition of their soul. Next, I want you to notice the realms. He shows us those who are going to be judged. He shows us how they're going to be judged. But then he shows us in verse 13 the realms from which they come.

Notice in verse 13, and the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds. Again, stating every one of them according to their deeds. Notice the sea gives up the dead.

So coincidental, or at the same time that the elements are passing away, what's coming out of Them are the dead, and they are being resurrected to stand. All those who the sea gives up their dead. All those who died or were buried at sea, whose flesh were devoured by the sea creatures.

This was especially frightful in the Greco-Roman world. I won't get into all of that, but the fear of the sea and all that, but it's vast, its size, and to be lost at sea, it was like, there is no hope. Who can recover? A life that was lost at the sea.

Well, it's no trouble for God. The sea will give up all of their dead. As the earthly realms disappear, people are brought forth to stand. From the sea. But not only that, death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them. Death and Hades. Now, if you think about it, death is more of the state.

Hades is the place of the dead. So you might think of it as death and the grave, paradise, Gehenna. Yet we already know that those who were of the first resurrection have already been brought out of the grave because they will reign with Christ for a thousand years.

But here's the point. No one can hide from God's judgment. Earth. And heaven are gone. They disappear. What's left? Human souls standing before the throne. Resurrected. Resurrected to receive their sentence. And notice. Notice the fact. Every one of them, every single one of the dead will be judged according to their deeds.

No one will be exempt. The sea cannot hide them from God. Death cannot hide them from God. The grave cannot hide them from God. Nothing, and Jesus speaks about this, saying, You know, look, in Luke 12:2, he says, There is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have worshipped in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. Nothing is hidden. No one and nothing is hidden, and that's going to be the criteria for judgment. I remember years ago, I was in a lawsuit, and many of you remember, and associated with my engineering world and life, and it became apparent to me very clearly.

Quickly, that nobody really knew why this wall fell. It fell. Nobody really knew why it failed. They could speculate. Nobody really knew. And I realized at that time that the only if for justice to be served, it must be built upon omniscience. Because for justice to truly be served, one must know what actually happened.

That's the purpose of the book. The book's omniscience. Perfect knowledge. Every soul. Perfect detail. That's where we are all, if you're not in Christ, that is where you are heading. This is the one to whom we all have to meet. How will you meet him? So that's the judged.

So John saw the judge, he saw the judged, and then he saw the judgment. Look at verse 14. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. So you see, the judgment upon death and Hades. Notice that death and Hades are also thrown like a ballistic missile into the lake of fire.

They too will. Occupy the same place as Satan, as the beast, and the false prophet. And this is the second death. There is a first death, physical death, and a first resurrection, the blessed. There is a second resurrection after the thousand years. But what is most ominous in all of this is the second death.

And this death is far more severe than the first. One of the greatest fears that people have is the fear of death. And what Jesus says, listen to what Jesus says. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than having your two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, where their worm does not die and their fire is not quenched.

Jesus says this in Matthew 10, 28. Do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul. But rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. What Jesus is saying is, look, the first death is a cakewalk compared to the second death that is coming.

By all means, avoid the second death. Flee to Christ. Take refuge in him. It is far worse. Than anything you can ever imagine. That's why the Son came, is because he didn't want his people to experience the second death. And so he took on the cross eternities of wrath there for us.

You see, God has no vision for death or the grave in the new heavens or the new earth. But notice the judgment is not only upon death and Hades, it's also upon humanity. Look at verse 15. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

That book of life, that registry of all of those who have been born of the Spirit of God. Remember, it was what John the Baptist said to Jesus: I need to be baptized by you. This is what he's talking about. You're the one. You're the true baptizer. You're the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.

That is what I need. Remember what Jesus said to Nicodemus: unless one is born of the water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. You see, their deeds are pointing to a reality that they're dead to God. They paid him no homage. And guess what?

God has no vision for those who do not want to pay homage to his son. He has no vision for them in the new heavens and the new earth. He doesn't have a vision for those who do not want a relationship with him. So, as you think about this, just looking at what John saw, he saw the judge, he saw the judged, and he saw the judgment.

And it's evident that God has no vision for Satan or for those susceptible to believing Satan's lies in the new kingdoms, in the new heavens, and the new earth. And you think about what John has seen now as we come to this point in Revelation. He has seen a lot.

He has seen a lot. You remember, just by a quick run-through, what was he seen? Well, he saw the rise of the evil empire, pictured in these four horsemen, the rise of this evil dominating force. This is what happens when sin is allowed to run its course. He shows it.

Revelation shows us. If sin is given its full run, this is where it goes. It rises to power with evil in its heart. Heart. And you can see the fifth seal that it's not friendly towards those who believe in Christ and hold to the testimony of God. That's what the fifth seal, all the martyrs who are crying out before the altar, saying, Lord, how long, how long are you going to allow this to go on?

And it's shortly after that that you get the sign, in you get the signs in the stars and in the in the in the hevelines that are displaying that the day of the Lord has come. And then with the opening of the seventh seal, you have seven trumpets announcing the day of the Lord has come.

And you get to the seventh trumpet and it blows, and you have seven bowls of destruction. So you see this evil force, empire, full expression coming on planet Earth, hostile to everything good and holy. And God pours out his judgment upon that evil empire and then brings it to a complete end with this bold judgments.

And then chapter 17 shows us a little more detail of how this great empire, this Babylon the Great, kind of picks up where Babylon I took place with Nimrod building a city against God. And you see it come. Full fruition here. But it comes down. Ecumenical religious system has to come down because there's only one that wants to be exalted among them.

And so the beast will destroy the woman. And you'll see the downfall of the religious Babylons. Chapter 18 shows us the downfall of economic Babylon, the powerhouse. Chapter 19 shows us the downfall of military Babylon and all the forces that it could muster. Chapter 20 then takes us and shows us the downfall of the Spirit who inspired it all.

Finally, that great serpent of old is dealt with, cast into the lake of fire. The spirit that gave rise is removed. And all of those susceptible to believing the spirit, remember, because after a thousand years, he goes back and deceives. See the judgment of Satan in verses 7 through 10.

And then we look at the judgment of the dead in our passage this morning. There's a danger here. There is a warning. There's something here for all of us. To take to heart and to make sure that we avoid. I tell you, look at Satan after a thousand years.

Look at his cavalier attitude. Look at it, it's incredible. After all the failed attempts through Scripture, it's clear Satan doesn't learn. He doesn't repent. He is hopelessly proud. He is hopelessly unteachable. He is cruel and he is bent on destruction. You saw it in chapter 12. He launches the attack against heaven.

And wow, he's thrown down Michael and his forces. Then in chapter 19 at Armageddon, there he is, thrown down again. And then in chapter 20, after the millennium, here he is again. He doesn't learn. You see, evil is on a suicidal mission. And you know what? His people are just like him.

And this gives us an understanding of why God is going to judge such a mass amount of humanity. They're just like him. And if they had the opportunity, given full reign, you would see something very similar to what you've seen in the book of Revelation. Where evil goes.

This is where eating from the tree and the knowledge of good and evil has taken humanity. It's one of the most insane things I've seen in all of Scripture: this cavalier attitude of Satan to recklessly take on omnipotent power. He doesn't learn. And there's only one other insanity that I think we can compare with that, and that is people who recklessly approach eternity without considering for a moment who they're going to meet.

Don't let that be you. That is reckless. That is satanic. What about you? Are you recklessly approaching eternity without considering who you're going to meet? Pay homage. Pay homage to the Son. Learn from Revelation. It gives us the last great or big picture of the nature of evil.

And with Revelation, we have the completed picture of evil. And it prepares us to understand why the judgment has to happen. Satan is hopelessly hateful toward God. That's evident. He's committed to harming people. And those swayed by him, if pressed, will do the same thing. But also, the millennium demonstrates that a thousand years, these people can be kept under lock and key.

They can be forced into compliance by a rod of iron, by good laws, by a strong police force, by loyal administrators, kings, and priests. But God has so much more for eternity. Eternity is not just about keeping evil in check. The nations were kept in check for a thousand years, but there was something still wrong.

They rebelled when they were given a chance. You see, eternity is for those who really desire Christ and really desire his ways. It's not for those who are forced to comply with him. He has so much more. It's about good running its full course without any obstacles, without any forced compliance or half-hearted participation.

It's about delighting in God. That's what heaven is about. You know, we're planning a wedding. Wedding's coming. You know, in an awful Of our wedding preparations for my daughter, I hope you don't mind if I put you on the spot. Can I have your permission? I'm sorry, I usually ask for permission before I use them as an illustration.

Jackson, do I have your permission? No, he shook it. No. What are you? Nuts, time out. No. We've got a wedding coming up. And you know, we're doing a lot of planning for it. You know, we haven't bought any handcuffs to put on the bride. I haven't bought a cage.

I haven't bought a chain to drag her in here. And you know why? They're not needed. She wants to be there. She wants to join in union with her husband. Sure, we could drag her down. We could get a rod of iron. That's make it happen, sure. But that's not what Jackson wants.

That's not what God wants for his son. He wants a people who delight in him. That's what eternity is about. You see, the universe does not need evil. It's not good to have to keep evil people in check who do not want to be kept in check. They don't love God with all of their hearts, and such is the spirit of evil.

So, the spirit of evil, Satan, who gave rise at all, and all human flesh susceptible to his evil way, will not have a part in the new heavens and the new earth. God has a vision for it, and it doesn't involve them. They're going into the burn pile, and I don't mean to make light of that.

It is. It burns forever. Their destruction is forever, so their reconstruction will never begin. Their penalty is forever, so their parole will never begin. They will never rise again. That's the purpose of eternal judgment. And that is the judgment upon evil. That is the judgment upon evil persons.

And it is right, and it is just and it is good. And all of these events in Revelation and the millennium show us, they take a people to the end, and it's like, we get it. It's good. It's necessary. So, God has a vision for those who will occupy the new heavens and the earth.

Earth. He has a vision for the new heavens and the new earth and for those who occupy it. You remember in Genesis 1:26, God said this. Then God said, Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

You know something about God? He doesn't have to be kept away from evil. He isn't susceptible to evil. And if you're going to be made in his image, guess what? You're going to have to be confirmed in holiness. That's what's going to occupy. That's what he wants in the people who are going to occupy the new heavens and the new earth.

How do you get confirmed? Well, you take refuge in his son. You pay homage to the son. And in God's grace, you will be confirmed in holiness. You'll be set apart now. You'll be sanctified now. And you will be confirmed later. And if you want a relationship with God, let me tell you something.

He has a vision for you in the new heavens and the new earth. Come to him today. Cry out to him. Say, Lord, I have walked in the way of evil, and I want to be done with it. I want your way. I want the blessedness of your way.

And it is right and it is good that the way of evil be done away with it. And I want it done in my heart today. Pray that prayer. Then come, be baptized. Come, meet with us. Be baptized. You see, the end, there is an end to the way of evil.

And it's the beginning of a new heavens and a new earth. The message of the Bible is don't perish in the way of evil. Evil and its way is going to perish. Don't perish in it. Come out now. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you. Even as we look upon this passage, we realize it's an invitation, it's a warning from you for us to come out of the way, because it is good and right to come out of the way of evil and to walk in your way.

Father, help us to pay homage to the Son every moment of it, every day of our life. Forgive us where we have not paid tribute to Him and to you. So, Father, now I just pray that you'd take these words, plant them deep within our hearts, and let them bring about a change in us for your glory.

In Jesus' name, amen.