"The Millennium"

Good morning, church.

If you missed Sunday school this morning,

you missed a great lesson about the American pilgrims and Puritans,

but in their honor of our spiritual forebears,

the sermon this morning will be three hours long.

I'm kidding.

Oh, if only we had the kind of passion and fervor for God's Word

that some of our spiritual forebears did.

Well, we're actually looking at Revelation 20 this morning,

so would you turn with me to Revelation 20?

That's page 976 in the Pew Bible.

Revelation 20, we'll be considering verses 1 through 10 today.

976, Revelation 20.

Let me pray for us, and then I'll read.

Father in heaven, what a gift it is to us to have the Scriptures.

Lord, as we think about our pews and our homes and our bookstores,

it's embarrassing, God, how easy it is for us

to get a hold of your life-giving Word and read it

and meditate upon it,

to memorize it, to study it,

to worship you and pray to you with it.

Lord, what a great treasure it is.

And we know that we neglect it, God,

so we ask for your forgiveness,

but we thank you for this morning

when we can realign our hearts to it again.

We admit, God, that without your Spirit,

our reading and our preaching and our studying

would be to no avail.

So, Jesus, we look to your Holy Spirit

in these moments to come

and enliven our hearts and our minds

to be receptive to your Word

and to do the work that only you can do

to conform us to the image of Christ

so that we might be image-bearers

and witness-bearers as you've ordained us to be.

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

All right, Revelation 20, 1 through 10.

John writes this,

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven,

holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit

and a great chain.

And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent,

who is the devil and Satan,

and bound him for a thousand years.

And threw him into the pit

and shut it and sealed it over him

so that he might not deceive the nations any longer

until the thousand years were ended.

After that, he must be released for a little while.

Then I saw thrones,

and seated on them were those

to whom the authority to judge was committed.

Also, I saw the souls of those

who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus

and for the Word of God,

and those who had not worshipped the beast

or its image and had not received its mark

on their foreheads or their hands.

They came to life and reigned with Christ

for a thousand years.

The rest of the dead did not come to life

until the thousand years were ended.

This is the first resurrection.

Blessed and holy is the one who shares

in the first resurrection.

Over such, the second death has no power,

but they will be priests of God and of Christ,

and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

And when the thousand years are ended,

Satan will be released from his prison

and will come out to deceive the nations

that are at the four corners of the earth,

Gog and Magog,

to gather them for battle.

Their number is like the sand of the sea.

And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth

and surrounded the camp of the saints

and the beloved city,

but fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

And the devil who had deceived them

was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur

where the beast and the false prophet were,

and they will be tormented day and night

forever and ever.

So, one of the things about studying

the book of Revelation

is that as you work your way through the book,

you'll often read in various commentaries

or you'll hear teachers say things like,

this passage is a difficult one to interpret,

or historically, Christians have differed

over the meaning of this text.

You see that kind of again and again

in almost every passage of this book.

But when you come to Revelation 20,

that sentiment raises to a whole new level.

One writer put it this way,

the interpretation of this chapter, he says,

comprises what is arguably the chief controversy

in eschatological studies,

if not in all evangelical theology.

Wow.

Now, I think he's overstating things a little bit.

I wouldn't say that this is the chief controversy

in all evangelical theology,

but you get the point.

When it comes to John's vision

of the 1,000 years in Revelation 20,

faithful Christians have consistently come

to different conclusions

about what exactly this refers to.

So before we walk through this passage,

section by section as we normally do,

I want to briefly mention

the three major approaches,

and then I want to draw out

a pastoral point from that

that's very relevant for our life

as a local church.

Now, I know some of you

have been waiting for the day

in our series in Revelation

when we'd finally get down into the weeds

and maybe pull out some charts

and some graphs

and compare the different approaches

and just go for it.

Well, you'll probably love today's sermon.

This one's for you.

But some of you,

having perhaps been subjected

to a sermon series in Revelation before,

have been dreading the moment

when we talk about this view

or that view,

and you've struggled to see

why any of that actually matters.

Well, let me assure you

that we will spend some time

considering why Revelation 20 matters.

And we're going to see

that no matter what your view

of this passage,

Revelation 20 is really good news

for the church today.

So as I mentioned,

there are broadly speaking

three ways to understand this text.

And each view is commonly given a name

based on how this 1,000-year period

or millennium

relates to the return of Christ.

But what we'll also see

is that each of these views

also sees the nature

of that 1,000-year period

or millennium differently.

And it's that,

the different nature

of the 1,000 years,

that's a really significant difference

between the three views.

So let's just kind of walk through.

The first view that we might consider

is called the pre-millennial position.

Now this view would say

that Christ returns to earth in glory

before the 1,000 years.

Hence, it's called pre-millennial.

Makes sense.

And the 1,000 years itself

is understood

to be a literal earthly reign of Christ

with the resurrected saints

over the nations

during that 1,000 years.

And after the 1,000-year reign is over,

Christ will defeat evil once and for all

and then establish the new heavens

and new earth

or what's sometimes called

the eternal state.

Now, it's pretty easy to see

why folks take this view, isn't it?

After all, in Revelation 19,

the chapter right before,

we see a picture of Jesus

returning in glory

and defeating the beast

and the false prophet.

Revelation 20 just seems to be

the next step in the story.

Jesus reigns on earth

for 1,000 years

with the resurrected saints.

And at the end of that time,

Satan is defeated

and thrown down

to join the beast

and the false prophet

where they already are.

Pretty straightforward, right?

And this view has a very impressive pedigree.

Justin Martyr from the 2nd century,

Charles Spurgeon,

Francis Schaeffer from the 20th century,

and many other faithful,

Bible-believing pastors and theologians

have held this pre-millennial view.

But then there are others who would say

that the return of Christ in glory

happens not before,

but after the millennium.

So this view has come to be called

the post-millennial view

because Christ returns

after the millennium.

And the 1,000 years itself

is actually referring to,

in this view,

not a sort of literal

earthly reign of Christ,

but a coming time in history,

towards the end of history,

a coming time of powerful

gospel advance

before Jesus returns.

Through the preaching of the gospel

and the pouring out of the spirit,

this view would see,

Satan will be bound

and there will be a massive

global spiritual flourishing.

And then at the end

of this golden age of the gospel,

Christ will return in glory,

defeat evil once and for all,

and establish the new heavens

and new earth.

We're going to find

they all sort of end the same way, right?

Now admittedly,

this view,

this post-millennial view,

is probably the least popular today.

But there have been

some weighty

and godly teachers

who have held

to a post-millennial view.

John Owen,

perhaps the greatest

English-speaking theologian.

Jonathan Edwards,

who many consider

the greatest American theologian.

Charles Hodge,

the great Princeton defender

of orthodoxy

in the 19th century.

All these,

and many, many more,

were post-millennial

in their view.

So, you know,

even if many aren't

fully persuaded

by this view today,

we still have to pause

and realize that there must be

something to it, right?

And perhaps,

if we had lived

through the great revivals

of Jonathan Edwards' day,

and seen the power

of the gospel

like that firsthand,

or perhaps,

if we had the sort of confidence

in God's powerful grace,

even through trials

and suffering,

like a John Owen did,

well, maybe we too

could believe

that God could bring about

a dramatic,

worldwide movement

of the gospel

that would usher in

the return of Christ.

Okay, so that's

post-millennialism.

Lastly, there's a third view,

a third view called

amillennial,

that holds that

the thousand years

is neither

a literal earthly reign

of Christ

after his return,

nor would it say

that it's a sort of

golden age of the gospel

before Christ's return.

Rather,

this view would say,

like so much else

in the book of Revelation,

this third view

would say that

the thousand years

is a symbol.

Specifically,

the thousand years

is taken to be

a symbolic expression

for the church age,

the entire time

between Christ's

first and second coming.

So Revelation 20,

in this view,

is yet another perspective,

another camera angle,

another portrait

in the art gallery

of the same stretch of time,

the same events

that we've seen

again and again

in Revelation.

According to this view,

because of Christ's death

and resurrection

at his first coming,

Satan has been bound,

much like we saw

in Revelation 12,

when Satan was cast

down from heaven

upon the advent of Christ,

the first advent of Christ.

And while the gospel

goes forth in this view,

the saints and martyrs

are seen as reigning

with Christ in heaven.

That's much like

Revelation 6,

where we saw a vision

of the martyred saints

in heaven rejoicing

before the throne of God.

And when the church age

is complete,

Christ will return

to defeat Satan

once and for all

and establish

the new heavens

and new earth.

Like I told you,

they all end the same,

right?

So this battle

in verses 7 through 10

and the amillennial view

is seen as a parallel

description to the many

other scenes of Christ's

return and the defeat

of evil that we've seen

throughout the book.

Again,

it's another camera angle

on the same events.

That's the amillennial view.

It sees these thousand years

as a symbol

for the church age.

And again,

this view also has

an impressive pedigree.

Augustine,

Calvin,

J.I. Packer

in the 20th century

and many other faithful

men and women

have taken this view.

Okay,

there you go.

And there are

hundreds of variations

on these three views

depending on who you talk to.

Now,

what do we take

from the fact

that good,

faithful Christians

can take such different

views of the same passage?

Well,

I think it ought to be

a lesson for us

in charity.

There are some doctrines

which are essential

to Christianity

and the gospel.

Doctrines which are

abundantly clear

in scripture

such that if you

visited a church

in the first century

or in the 10th century

or in the 21st century

today,

we would hold them

in common

whether you were

in Africa

or Asia

or North America.

Doctrines like

the deity of Christ,

the triune nature

of God,

the atoning death

of Jesus,

the bodily resurrection

of Jesus,

the bodily return

of Jesus,

the personhood

of the Holy Spirit,

the authority

of the scriptures.

These are the doctrines

that are primary

and essential

to historic

biblical faith.

Those are the doctrines

that make Christians

Christians.

And those are the doctrines

that are worth struggling for,

worth battling for

because they're at the heart

of the good news.

The heart of the good news

that the God

who created all things

loved the world

and sent his son

to die for our sins

and rise again

on the third day

so that everyone

who believes in him

from every tribe

and every nation

and every language

might be forgiven

of their sins,

granted new spiritual life

by the Holy Spirit

and assured

of eternal life.

These are the primary

things that we hold.

But there are other doctrines

that are not primary.

There are doctrines

where faithful Christians

disagree.

Doctrines that are not

essential to the gospel

or essential

to biblical holiness.

And the temptation,

temptation, though,

is to approach

these primary

or even tertiary,

that is,

third order doctrines,

with the same passion

and fight

as the primary ones.

That's the temptation.

Of course,

it's good

to develop

your convictions

about those things.

But when our swords

come out

over the millennium

or spiritual gifts

or church polity,

what happens?

Well, then a local church

becomes known more

for its stance

on the end times

or what have you

than its joyful

embrace of the gospel.

And that's what

we want to be known for.

That's the thing

that gives us life

and energizes us.

In other words,

you know,

what is it that we want

to define ourselves?

Do we want to be defined

by the center

that we hold in common?

Or do we want to be defined

by the boundaries

of the secondary

and tertiary issues

that we've come to?

I think developing

this wisdom

to discern what's primary

and secondary

and even tertiary

and then to show

appropriate charity

toward those

with whom we disagree

on secondary

and tertiary issues

is critical for us today.

It's critical

for our life together

and it's critical

for our witness

to the world.

Justin Martyr,

the second century apologist

that I mentioned earlier,

was a premillennialist,

right?

But he realized

that Christians,

even in the second century,

didn't all agree

on the details

of the end times.

And he's actually

a really good model for us.

In one place,

he writes,

I and many others

are of this opinion

and believe

that such will take place

as you are assuredly aware.

So he says,

look,

this is what I believe,

as you know.

Then he goes on

to say this,

but on the other hand,

I signify to you

that many who belong

to the pure

and pious faith

and are true Christians

think otherwise.

Did you catch that?

He says,

many who are true Christians

think otherwise.

Friends,

beware of a teacher

or a website

or a theological movement

that makes secondary

or tertiary issues

a litmus test

for orthodoxy.

We ought to have

a closed hand

around the core

of our faith,

the essential teachings

of the gospel,

the clear teachings

of biblical holiness

and ethics,

and an open hand

to the non-essential ones.

Develop your convictions.

Yes.

Have hearty conversations.

Yes.

And some of those

secondary issues

like baptism

or church polity,

that may mean

that we choose

to attend

one local church

over another,

right?

That's okay.

But all of our

hearty conversations

about these topics

should end

with love

for your brothers

and sisters in Christ.

And in so doing,

we,

as the church,

are modeling

for the world

the difference

that God's grace

makes

in our human interactions.

Inside the church,

we're embodying

together

a new way

to be human.

No longer

driven by anger

or fear,

but

by a deep

conviction

for the truth,

yes,

and by a deep

love for one another.

So the pastoral point

of observing

these different

views of Revelation 20

is a call

to interpretive

and communal

humility

and charity

toward those

with whom we disagree

and to do so

for Christ's sake.

Now,

having said all that,

you might be wondering,

okay,

but where does Trinity

land on all this,

right?

Well,

you'll notice

if you go onto our website

or if you've been

to Trinity 101,

our doctrinal statement

does not take a position

on the question

of the millennium.

So we don't require

our members

or our church officers

to believe one view

or the other.

Now,

personally,

I find myself

slightly more convinced

by the amillennial view,

but only slightly,

actually.

There are days

when I read the text

and I think,

you know,

those premillennialists

have to be right,

right?

I would joke

with Pastor Matt

before he left

for sabbatical

because I think

he's a premillennialist.

I would joke with him,

I'd say,

Matt,

I think I'm coming over

to your camp.

I think I'm being convinced.

So anyway,

Revelation 20,

it teaches us

a lesson in charity,

but what else

is it meant to teach us?

What else?

What was John

hoping to convey

to the original readers

of Revelation?

Well,

as we take a step back

and consider

where we've come

in this beautiful

and bracing book

that we call Revelation,

it seems clear

that Revelation 20

is showing us

sort of the climactic

victory of Christ

and his people

over the great deceiver.

This is the victory

of Christ over Satan,

the one Revelation

calls the dragon.

If last week showed us

the defeat of the beast

and the false prophet,

now the camera shifts

and shows us

what about the dragon?

And it shows us

this victory

in three steps.

First,

it shows us

that Satan's deception,

because he's called here

the great deceiver,

but first it shows us

that his deception

will be restrained.

That's verses 1-3.

Deception restrained.

Satan is bound

and locked away

and then we're told

this beautiful good news,

that the nations

are deceived no more,

so that the nations

might not be deceived

anymore.

The darkness

is lifting.

Now,

the premillennial view

would see this

as a time

after Christ returns,

and for a thousand years

the lies of Satan

will be locked away.

what joy

that will be

on earth.

What freedom

that will bring.

But can't we also say

that something like this

is true even today?

In the amillennial view,

the thousand years

is the church age,

as we said,

and when you consider

how the gospel

has advanced

over the last

two thousand years

from one corner

of the world

to the other,

it would seem

that Satan's power

to deceive the nations

has been dealt

a mighty death blow.

Nancy Guthrie

makes this observation

in her excellent book

on Revelation.

It's one of the best

I've been reading,

actually,

as we've walked

through this series.

She says this,

she makes these observations,

she says,

if we go back

to the Old Testament

and we remember

after we read

about the promise

to Abraham

that through him

all the families

on the earth

shall be blessed,

remember that

in Genesis 12?

Well,

when that happens,

there's not an immediately

huge influx

of the nations

taking hold

of the covenant promises

of God,

is there?

We read about

individuals

or particular tribes

joining themselves

to the people of God

in the Old Testament,

but it's limited.

But then,

everything changes

with the coming

of Jesus

into the world

and the sending

of his spirit

upon his ascension.

We read in Acts

how Pentecost

ushered in an era

of the gospel

being preached

to Jerusalem,

Judea,

and Samaria

and to the ends

of the earth.

We read in the epistles

about churches

being formed

throughout the known world.

what changed?

What changed was

through the life,

death,

resurrection,

and ascension

of Jesus,

Satan was bound

so that the nations

are no longer deceived

and they begin

streaming in.

And Satan remains bound

until all who were chosen

in Christ for salvation

from every people group

of the world

are safely brought

into the fold.

You know,

Revelation has held up

for us a vision

again and again,

hasn't it?

That we as the church

are meant to be witness bearers.

The church bears witness

through suffering

to the true God

who is the creator

and redeemer.

And in light

of this passage,

we should remain

confident

in this calling

that God has given us.

It may feel like

the gospel

is implausible

to so many

around us,

but the deceiver,

friends,

has been bound.

He may roar

from time to time,

but his lies

have been exposed.

And before the light

of the gospel

and the power

of the Holy Spirit,

the deceiver

is no match.

So that co-worker

you've been praying for

or that family member

you've been sharing

the gospel with,

friends,

don't get discouraged.

Don't think

it's a lost cause.

The gospel

is a liberating power

and the lies

of Satan

are no match.

So stay faithful.

Stay prayerful.

And pray for the nations.

Pray for the people groups

who've not yet

heard the good news.

Satan binds them

no longer.

His deception

has been restrained.

Pray that God

would raise up workers

for the harvest.

Perhaps he might

even be calling you.

In fact,

if I can go out

on a limb,

he is calling you.

Because right here

in New Haven,

people from around

the world

are gathering.

Do you think

Satan enjoys

this result

of globalization,

right?

That people from

around the world,

some of whom

have never heard

the gospel,

end up

in New Haven,

Connecticut

and can hear

about the saving

love of Jesus

for the first time.

Think of the

strategic location

that God

has given us

for the global

advance of the gospel.

We don't need

to get into a plane

to win the nations,

although some of you

might be called

to do that.

In fact,

we don't even need

to get into our cars.

The field is white

for the harvest.

Will you lift

your eyes

and see it?

Will we pray

for the Holy Spirit

to move in power?

Yes,

Satan may be trying

to do all he can,

but his lies

are no match

for the gospel.

So the first paragraph

shows us

deception restrained.

The next paragraph,

verses 4-6,

shows us

deception overturned.

Deception overturned.

Now,

what do I mean by that?

Well,

consider who

John sees

in this part

of the vision,

verses 4-6.

He sees the saints.

Christians.

Now,

what did Satan

have to say

about these saints,

about these Christians?

They refuse

to worship the beast.

They refuse

to take the mark

of the beast.

So according

to worldly standards,

right,

they're fools.

They're on the losing

side of history.

And some of them

are even martyred

for their resistance

to the idolatry

and greed

and oppressive power

of the dragon

and his beasts.

They're dead.

Doesn't that prove

that Christianity

is a lost cause?

The godless powers

put them to death.

Does that not prove

that the dragon

and his beasts

are the ones

really calling

the shots around here?

Shouldn't we just

give in?

Ah,

but John sees

a different reality.

Those saints

and martyrs

who looked weak,

who looked like fools,

who looked like

they were clearly

on the wrong side

of history,

they came to life

and reigned

with Christ

for a thousand years.

Do you remember

when Frodo

and Sam

in The Lord of the Rings

first meet Strider

in The Prancing Pony?

Some of you are like,

you lost me, Nick.

That's like total geekdom.

I'm out.

So The Prancing Pony

is the name of this inn

and these two hobbits

go there

and there's this guy

named Strider

and they meet him

and all they see,

all they see

is a weather-worn wanderer.

All they see

is a suspicious vagabond.

But what their untrained eyes

could not see

was that this weary

and weathered

and forsaken man

was actually

the true king.

John's making

the same point here

of every believer

in Christ.

The world may condemn,

ridicule,

even kill you,

but the truth is

you are priests of God

and you will reign with him.

And whether this reign

takes place

in a literal kingdom

after Christ returns

or whether this reign

is taking place

now in heaven,

it makes little difference.

whether the first resurrection

is a metaphor

for the life of the saints

right now

before the throne of the Lamb

like we see in Revelation 6

or whether the first resurrection

is the bodily coming to life

of all Christians

a thousand years

before non-Christians.

Again,

it makes little difference.

The point is the same.

As Tolkien wrote,

all that is gold

does not glitter.

Not all those who wander

are lost.

The old that is strong

does not wither.

Deep roots are not reached

by the frost.

From the ashes

a fire shall be woken.

A light from the shadows

shall spring.

Renewed

shall be the blade

that was broken.

The crownless again

shall be king.

The crownless again

shall be king.

Christian,

you

are a co-regent

with Christ

no matter what

this world says about you.

Even death

cannot steal

your dignity.

The deceptions

of Satan,

his lies about

who you are

and what you are

are overturned

are overturned

by the verdict

of God.

So Christian,

when trials come,

hold your head high.

When the hurricane

of trials

and afflictions come,

when the world

does its worst,

remember,

you are blessed.

The crownless again

shall be king.

Let not the noise

of the world

or the evil one

silence your love

for him

or for one another.

Persevere

in faithfulness,

compassion,

goodness.

Let your reign

fall on the just

and the unjust

just like your heavenly

father.

You will reign

with the king.

Or perhaps

you've been considering

Christianity

for some time

but you've not yet

given your life

to Christ.

You've been counting

the cost

of following him

and that's good.

Jesus tells us

to count the cost.

But friend,

don't you realize

that whatever you lose

for his sake

is nothing

compared to what you gain?

Even if you count

everything is lost,

by comparison,

you have nothing to lose

and everything to gain.

Our life is a short

span of years.

How long will we live?

80 years?

90 years?

What is the reputation

of a moment?

What is the wealth

of a passing hour

compared

to reigning

with the king

of glory?

He stands

at the door

and knocks

and he knocks

even for you.

Will you open

the door

of your life

and let him

come in

and dine?

will you surrender

your life

to him?

He surrendered

his life

for you,

you see.

He gave up

his crown,

he was crucified

so that you

could take up

a crown

and live forever.

Is there any

better exchange

than that?

Than the gospel?

Is there any

better bargain

than what Christ

holds out for you?

your sin

for his righteousness,

your rebellion

and shame

for his crown

and glory?

So the call

is clear.

Open the door.

Let Christ

take your sins

and let him

put a crown

on your head

and anything

you lose

will be nothing

compared to

what you gain.

So John

shows us

then deception

restrained,

deception

overturned,

and finally

deception

defeated.

This is verses

7 through 10.

Deception

defeated.

And again,

here the point

is the same

regardless of

your view.

Satan's lies

will be exposed

and removed

once and for all.

John makes

an allusion

to the prophet

Ezekiel here,

Gog and Magog.

In Ezekiel 38

and 39,

Gog is the

name of a

terrible and

great enemy

of God's people

and Magog

is sort of

his land,

his nation.

So Gog and

Magog

means something

like prince

and people.

And John

is showing

us here

the ultimate

fulfillment

of Ezekiel's

shadowy vision.

The dragon

leads his

people to war

against the

camp of the

saints.

The saints

who are

God's beloved

city,

the church.

But in that

final assault,

the end

comes swiftly.

Satan and

his lies

are vanquished

once and

for all.

The spell

of deception

is finally

broken.

I wonder

if you can

imagine a

world where

the lingering

thoughts and

the lingering

doubts that

have haunted

humanity since

the fall

no longer

plague us.

Can you

imagine a

world like

that?

The surfeit

said in

Genesis 3,

did God

really say?

Did God

really say?

Isn't that

not the

great lie,

the great

insinuation,

the great

deception?

Surely God

didn't say

that.

In other

words,

underneath that

lie, that

insinuation,

are the lies

that God

isn't good,

God can't

be trusted,

God doesn't

love you,

you have to

find your

happiness

somewhere else.

You're on

your own,

Satan says.

But then

ironically he

says,

you're on

your own,

so follow

me.

And follow

him we

did.

That's the

history of

humanity.

And misery

was the

result.

But imagine

the day

when the

great lie

is broken

forever,

when deception

is defeated,

when the

truth of

God's

goodness

and love

will be

the

unquestioned

and undeniable

reality,

not just at

the bottom

of everything,

but alive

in our

own hearts.

What a

great day

that will

be.

And if

that is

the end,

John seems

to be telling

us here in

Revelation 20,

live now

in light of

it.

Don't let

the spin

and the

half-truths

of the

world

lull you

to sleep

or make

you afraid

or spin

you into

a rage.

I like how

Paul puts

it in

Colossians 3,

1-4.

He says,

if then you

have been

raised with

Christ,

seek the

things that

are above

where Christ

is,

seated at

the right

hand of

God.

Set your

minds on

things above,

not on the

things that

are on

earth.

For you

have died

and your

life is

hidden with

Christ and

God.

When Christ,

who is your

life appears,

then you

also will

appear with

him in

glory.

Set your

mind on

things above.

And again,

Paul says

this in

Philippians 4,

8-9.

He says,

finally,

brothers and

sisters,

whatever is

true,

whatever is

honorable,

whatever is

just,

whatever is

pure,

whatever is

lovely,

whatever is

commendable,

if there is

any excellence,

if there is

anything worthy

of praise,

think about

these things.

What you have

learned and

received and

heard and

seen and

me,

practice

these things

and the

God of

peace will

be with

you.

I think

it's vital

for the

church today

to take

these verses

to heart.

Deception

will be

defeated in

the end,

but in

the meantime,

we need

to set

our minds

on things

above.

We need

to set

our minds

on what's

true and

honorable and

just.

Are we

willing to

do some

self-examination

on this

front?

Do you

spend as

much time or

a comparable

amount of

time reading

and meditating

on scripture

as you do

consuming other

forms of

media?

Is it any

surprise that

Christians are

blown and

tossed by

cultural movements,

whether to the

left or to

the right,

given how much

time we spend

uncritically

ingesting the

world's media

and how little

time we spend

saturating

ourselves in

God's word?

food?

I'm not

saying we

should stick

our heads

in the

sand and

be unaware

of our

cultural

moment.

Of course

not.

Yes, we

need to

stay current

and be

involved.

We need

to contextualize

the gospel

for our

time and

our place.

But if

you find

yourself

watching the

news,

for example,

and getting

consistently

angry or

consistently

afraid,

it might

be a good

sign that

you're being

blown and

tossed by a

world that

wants to

keep you

angry and

afraid.

And you

may need to

think about

recalibrating

your daily

intake.

More time

with God's

word,

maybe a

little less

time with

human words.

Because

ultimately,

God's word

is what

will endure.

And that

means we

never need

to be

ultimately

angry or

afraid.

There are

some things

that may

rise in

us,

that righteous

anger,

right?

That's fine.

But friends,

so much of

our anger

and fear

is not

righteous.

Only God's

word is

what will

endure.

And if

we're rooted

in him

and in

his word,

then ultimately

we never

need to be

angry or

afraid in

those ways.

So if we

take anything

from Revelation

20, take

this,

the true

king is on

the throne,

the evil

one and all

his lies are

bound and

headed for

destruction,

and the

church will

be safe.

And not

just safe,

but they'll

reign.

The

crownless

again will

be kings,

priests who

reign with

Christ forever.

And as we

go to the

Lord's Supper

this morning,

as we're

going to do

in just a

minute,

what do we

see there

at the

table?

Well,

doesn't the

Lord's Supper

tell us who

we are and

whose we

are,

right?

Who are

we?

We're the

people for

whom Christ

died.

That's the

truth about

us.

And whose

are we?

We belong

to the

world's

true king

who died

and rose

again for

us and

our salvation.

You see,

at the

table,

the lies

are dispersed

as we

remember his

body broken

and his

blood shed.

In other

words, we

see God's

truth at

the table.

We see

the truth

of the

gospel.

We see

the truth

that our

sin was so

great that

Jesus had

to die

for us.

But we

see the

truth that

his love

for us

was so

great that

he came

and was

willingly

glad to

die for

us.

and

to

him

to

the