How It All Ends

Father, we worship you this morning. We've come to adore you and to set our hearts and the affections of our hearts on you.

God, as we're going to read in your word this morning, you are faithful and true and righteous in all your ways.

God, you have perfect perspective on the world.

And so, Father, this morning, as we come to set our hearts on you and to remind ourselves that we don't have perfect perspective.

We see the world from a very limited perspective, but you do, God.

And so, Father, we've come to trust you this morning.

We've come to set our hope on yourself and not ourselves.

We've come to set our hope on who you are more than ourself and the things of this world.

Father, thank you for the fact that you promised that, yes, in this world we will face trouble.

There is difficulty, that is true, but you promised that you will be with us.

Thank you for your leading and guiding.

God, every day we could look back upon the previous weeks and months and years and just say you are such a faithful God.

You really are faithful and true, and we honor you for that this morning, God.

Jesus, thank you that you promised to give us peace.

And for so many of us that have walked with you, that testimony is true.

Even in the midst of difficulty, your peace reigns in our hearts.

And we're so grateful for your faithfulness, God.

Father, this morning we want to pray for those in our congregation that are facing real challenges, God.

We know some of our friends are going through health challenges, really significant health challenges.

We bring them before you, God.

We pray for those that are parenting and just finding the reality of parenting is hard, God.

Christ, won't you pour out your grace on our parents, Lord.

We pray for those, God, for whom marriage is difficult at the moment, Lord.

And we pray for your grace and your gospel to be at work in our hearts.

God, help us to take our eyes off of ourselves and to fix our eyes on you, God.

Lord, we pray for those that are making big, life-altering decisions, God.

Whether to, yeah, take some big step in a new direction.

God, we pray that you will be with them and that you will make your will so abundantly clear.

We pray that we will know what your will is, God, in those situations.

So we pray for our students and our high schoolers, God.

I want you to lead them and be with them.

We bring ourselves before you, God.

We need you.

And that's why we've come to worship you, God.

Father, we want to pray for the young people in our city, God.

Those that are part of our church and those that are not.

Those who are dealing with trauma and conflict.

God, those who are really cut up and hurting deeply because of what's happened in the last couple of months.

God, we pray for your healing power to be at work in the young people of our city, God.

We pray for conflict to be resolved.

We pray for conflict in families and churches to be resolved.

We pray, God, for those involved in counseling, God, that you're given profound wisdom.

We pray for healing to come to our city.

Oh, God, we pray for your healing to come.

Jesus, we so need you.

Come and heal our city, we pray.

Father, we bring our city before you and we long for it to be in Hong Kong as it is in heaven, God.

We long for your grace and your priest to rule in our city.

And so we pray for the churches, God.

Cause us to be salt and light in the city.

Cause us to shine, to point to the hope of Jesus.

We pray for our politicians this morning, God.

Give them wisdom, Lord.

Help them to make right and good decisions for the well-being of our city.

We bring these things before you in your wonderful and your faithful name.

Amen.

Amen.

Let's listen to the reading of God's word.

And Jefferson and Echo are going to read to us this morning.

The scripture reading comes from Revelation 19 to 21.

Please follow along in your bulletin or on the screen.

Then I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse.

The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True.

And in righteousness he judges and makes war.

His eyes are like a flame of fire and on his head are many diadems.

And he has a name written that no one knows but himself.

He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood.

And the name by which he is called is the word of God.

And the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.

From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.

And he will rule them with a rod of iron.

He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written.

King of kings and lord of lords.

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun.

With a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead.

Come, gather for the great supper of God.

To eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men,

the flesh of horses and their riders.

And the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.

And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him

who was sitting on a horse and against his army.

And the beast was captured.

And with it the false prophet, who in his presence had done the signs by which he deceived those

who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image.

These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse.

And all the birds were gouged with their flesh.

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and the 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 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.

The 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.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.

From his presence, earth and sky fled away,

and no place was found for them.

And I saw the dead, great and small,

standing before the throne,

and books were opened.

Then another book was opened,

which is the book of life,

and the dead were judged by what is written in the books,

according to what they had done.

And the sea gave up the dead who were in it.

Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them,

and they were judged,

each one of them,

according to what they had done.

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.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,

for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,

and the sea was no more.

And I saw the holy city,

new Jerusalem,

coming down out of heaven from God,

prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

Behold,

the dwelling place of God is with man.

He will dwell with them,

and they will be his people,

and God himself will be with them as their God.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,

and death shall be no more.

Neither shall there be mourning,

nor crying,

nor pain anymore,

for the former things have passed away.

This is the word of God.

Okay, thank you, Jefferson and Echo.

I don't know if you remember this.

If you're a student,

this might be before your time.

I feel very old saying that.

But I remember when I was a kid,

I don't know if you remember,

seeing these 3D images,

or it was just a picture,

I think I've got one on the screen,

of like a blur of lines and patterns and colors,

and if you stare at it long enough,

you can see some 3D image emerging.

Does anyone remember any of those?

Okay, just one or two of us.

I remember looking at these things,

and like really squinting,

and trying to like,

from every different angle,

and I could never see the 3D image.

I was just useless at it.

Sometimes the book of Revelation

can feel a little bit like that.

It's just this blur of symbols and imagery,

and you can stare at it and think,

I don't have a clue what's going on.

But hopefully as you look at it long enough,

and as you read it enough,

you start to see the consistent patterns

and images emerge,

and you start to see the picture behind it.

Now if you've joined us recently,

or you've joined us halfway through the series,

you might be a little lost.

And to be honest, that's completely fine.

If you're lost,

and you've been here the whole time,

that's also fine.

And just by the way,

you are welcome to come and ask any questions you want.

I cannot promise I can answer every question,

but you're welcome to ask any question.

But I do hope for some of us

that have been here from the beginning,

we're starting to sort of see

the consistent patterns and images emerge

as we work through the book of Revelation.

Because really,

this book is one of the most repetitive books.

It keeps on just saying the same thing

time and time again from various angles.

Now, I have good news and bad news for you this morning.

What do you want first?

Okay, I would normally choose the bad news,

but I'm gonna go with the good news, okay?

The good news is this.

We are coming to the home straight.

I don't know if you've ever run a marathon,

and you get like three quarters of the way through,

and your legs turn to jelly,

and you just think,

there's no ways I'm gonna finish this thing.

When is this thing ever gonna end?

You might have felt like that

through the book of Revelation, right?

You might have thought,

I've hit a wall.

When is this thing ever gonna end?

We're coming to the home straight.

The finish line is ahead of us.

Two or three more weeks away,

we'll finish before Christmas, okay?

That's the good news.

The bad news is this.

Today's passage is probably the most controversial

and the most difficult passage

in the whole of Revelation,

and possibly the whole Bible.

It's one of those passages

that has had a gazillion books written about it

throughout the history of the world.

There are a million different podcasts,

everyone with their own opinion, okay?

And it's my joint privilege

to explain it to us this morning.

Part of the reason why it's so divisive

is because it talks about how the world,

as we know it, comes to an end.

And it talks about this strange period of time,

this period of a thousand years,

what's known as the millennium.

And that is really difficult

and has generated a lot of debate

for two main reasons.

The one reason is because the Bible's actually

not crystal clear on exactly how it all works.

And so there's varied opinions.

Some people say,

no, it definitely works like this.

Other people say,

no, it definitely works like this.

This is actually the only passage in the Bible

that talks about this mysterious millennium,

this thousand-year period.

The other reason why it's generated controversy

is it hasn't happened yet.

And so everything people say is speculative.

You know, we can look back on the crucifixion,

we can look at secular history

and eyewitness accounts and archaeology,

and we can piece it together

and say this is what happened.

But the future, it's all a little speculative, okay?

And so we're gonna try and look at this

a little bit today.

So today, I'm gonna need you to really concentrate

and stay with me, okay?

This is gonna, we're gonna dive in

and we're gonna do our best to try and make sense of it.

And so we've got three questions

we're gonna try and answer today.

The first one is,

what on earth is up with the millennium?

The second one is,

what's going on with this passage as a whole?

Okay, what is God actually trying to say to us?

And the third one is, how should we respond?

Okay, so that's where we're gonna try and go today.

Okay, so firstly, let's give a brief overview

of what Jefferson and Echo read to us.

So in chapter 19, we encounter Jesus Christ.

And he's on this white horse,

which speaks of authority and intentionality and power.

And his eyes are of fire.

He's got the sword coming out of his mouth.

And he's riding on the nations

and he comes in to judge the nations

in righteousness and truth and justice,

which is a really good thing.

Right, think about it.

Even the most perfect judges in our world

have limited perspective.

Even the brilliant judges in the world

don't know everything

or the intentionalities of everyone's heart.

But Jesus comes and he brings perfect justice.

The things that are going wrong in this world,

one day the one who knows everything as it really is

will bring righteousness and judge the world

in righteousness and truth.

And that's really good news for us.

And on his robe is written this title.

He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Caesar is not King.

Rome is not King.

The stock market is not King.

Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

And he comes as the perfect Lord.

And then we see the kings of the earth and the armies

and this beast,

which is the symbol of idolatrous institutions of power

and structures and the kingdoms of this world.

They are conquered by Jesus and his armies

and they are thrown into this lake of fire.

And then we get to chapter 20.

And chapter 20,

John sees this angel

and he's holding a key to this bottomless pit.

And there Satan is seized

and he's bound

and he's tied up

and he's cast into this bottomless pit

for this period of a thousand years.

And while he's there,

we are told that he cannot deceive the nations any longer.

And so for this thousand year period,

this millennium,

it's kind of like this golden age.

It's marked by the reign of Jesus.

Jesus reigns in the world with his people.

And it's a picture of this golden period

for the gospel and the church.

Satan seems to be restricted and bound

and Christ together with his people,

including those that have been killed and martyred,

they reign throughout the world.

And then we see at the end of this period,

Satan seems to be released

and he gathers all his evil forces

and they launch one final battle against the church,

this Armageddon battle.

But as he's about to fight the church,

he is destroyed and conquered

and forever and ever,

Satan is thrown into this lake of fire

where he is tormented day and night

forever and ever and ever.

And Satan is finally and fully defeated.

And then all people,

Christians and non-Christians,

anyone that's ever lived,

stands before the judgment seat of God.

We are held accountable for our decisions.

And finally after that,

the new heavens and the new earth appear.

That's what Jefferson and Echo

read to us this morning.

Now here's the question.

So what's up with this crazy thousand year period?

And why have people been so interested in it?

And the reason is this.

Because this thousand year period

is meant to be this period

sometime at the end of the age

before the world comes to an end.

And so Christians for hundreds of years

have tried to piece together and work out.

Okay, so does Jesus come

and then there's this thousand years

and the end of the world?

Or is there this thousand years

and then Jesus comes

and it's the end of the world?

How is the world going to end?

And can we as Christians

bring about this thousand year period?

Are there things that we can do?

Can we send missionaries

to the end of the world

that will speed it up?

Or is there nothing we can do

and we've just got to get on with life?

And so what's going on with this?

Now there are three main views, okay?

The first one is this.

It's called pre-millennialism.

I think we've got this up there somewhere.

Okay, pre-millennialism.

And those that believe this would say this.

Before this thousand year period,

this millennial period,

whether it's literal or figurative,

Jesus comes back.

And Jesus is going to come in power

and glory with eyes like fire

and he's going to conquer the world.

And Jesus, along with Christians,

are going to reign throughout the world.

It's going to be this golden period

where the kingdom of God advances,

Satan is defeated,

and all Christians who have died

will rise from the dead

and be alive for a thousand years with Jesus.

And those that have not died,

we are going to get our new resurrection bodies.

And Christians will reign with Jesus

on the earth for a thousand years.

And then at the end of that period,

Satan will be released.

There'll be this massive Armageddon battle.

Jesus will conquer Satan.

There'll be the final judgment,

the living and the dead,

and then the new heavens and the earth.

Okay?

And so some people say,

pre-millennial,

Jesus is going to come back

and he's going to bring about

this golden period of peace and prosperity

and the world is going to be lovely.

Now, one of the things is this.

Pre-millennials generally have

a very negative view of the world.

So the world's going to get worse

and worse and worse and worse.

There's going to be more chaos,

more destruction,

more anarchy,

until finally Jesus comes

and rescues us all.

Okay?

So that's pre-millennialism.

Another view is post-millennialism.

And those that believe in post-millennialism

say,

no, no, no, no, no.

It's the other way around.

There's going to be this period,

this golden period of a thousand years.

The church is going to advance.

Christians are going to reign.

Christians are going to rule the earth.

It's going to be wonderful.

There's going to be peace and prosperity.

And at the end of that period,

Jesus is going to come back,

destroy Satan.

There's going to be judgment day.

And then the new heavens

and the new earth is going to come.

And post-millennials believe

the world is going to get better

and better and better.

As the church advances,

as the gospel goes forward,

nations are going to get better,

more righteous,

more justice in the world.

And it's going to lead

to this golden period of prosperity

for a long period of time.

And when the world is almost perfect,

Jesus will come back again.

So post-millennials

have a very positive view of the world.

And generally will say,

we can bring this about

as we send missionaries

to the end of the world.

As missionaries go out,

it will bring Jesus back sooner.

Okay?

Then there's a third view.

And this, by the way,

is my view,

which means that it's the right view.

You are welcome to disagree with me.

You have the right to be wrong.

But otherwise,

you can agree with me.

I'm just joking about that.

By the way,

Chris Thornton and I

have spoken about this.

We actually happen to agree on this.

And a third view

is amillennialism.

And that view says,

people like me

that believe in this

would say,

no, no, no,

there's no future period

in the coming

of this like thousand

either literal or figurative period.

Actually,

the millennium

is the church age

between Jesus' first coming

and his second coming.

This is it now.

And between the cross

and the throne,

Jesus is ruling and reigning.

And his people,

Christians,

do actually rule

and reign as well,

even though it doesn't

seem like it.

And so,

amillennials would say

that we are living

in this period now.

And one day,

Jesus will come.

He will utterly defeat Satan.

There will be judgment day

for the living and the dead

and then the new heavens

and the new earth.

Now,

to be honest,

if you had asked me

three weeks ago,

what do I think?

I would have said,

I don't have a single clue.

I don't even know

what premillennialism means.

But as we've worked

through the book of Revelation

and as I've thought about it

for these weeks,

it seems to me

this is the best pattern

that follows

the book of Revelation

and the New Testament teaching.

So,

in other words,

I personally don't think

there's this golden period

in the future

that is coming

and Jesus will come

before or after.

I think this is the period

where Christians

and reign with Jesus

in the world.

Okay,

so there it is,

the three views

of millennialism.

Now,

you can go and debate

with your friends

and tell them

how the world

is going to end.

Okay,

I somehow think

that's probably

not going to happen.

Now,

the truth is this.

Many really good theologians

and Bible-believing

men and women

have disagreed on this

throughout the ages.

Men that really love

the Bible

and love Jesus

have strong views

one or the other.

And so,

what that means is

we shouldn't be so dogmatic.

We don't know

how the world's

really going to end.

We can have our views

and it might inform

a couple of things,

but we shouldn't be

so dogmatic.

We should be humble

in the way

that we hold them.

But,

in some ways,

Jesus has left it

a little bit vague.

But there's a whole lot

in this chapter

that he hasn't left vague.

And so,

that leads us

to the second point.

What on earth

is going on

with this passage?

The millennium aside,

what do we know

for certain?

What is not vague

in Revelation 20

and 21?

What is Jesus

absolutely clear about

and what does Jesus

want you to go away

from today

knowing with conviction

and certainty?

Jesus said,

nobody knows

the hour

or the time

that I'm coming,

only my Father

in heaven,

but there is some stuff

that he does want you to know.

Jesus again and again

and again says,

there's some stuff

you don't know,

don't worry about that,

but there's some stuff

I do want you to know

and I want you to have

conviction around this.

And so,

imagine this.

I don't know if soda's here.

Here we've got

the lovely soda.

Soda is expecting

a baby

in February,

right?

14th of February,

Valentine's Day.

Come,

imagine Dan and Soda,

first time parents,

say,

you know,

we don't really know

how the whole labor thing

is going to work.

Like,

there's so many things

that are unknown.

Is the baby going to be

lying the right way?

Is it going to be breached?

Is baby going to come early?

Is baby going to come late?

Is labor going to be quick?

Is it going to be prolonged?

There's things

that we don't really know.

And so,

imagine Dan Soda say,

we don't really know

how this whole labor thing works.

Ah,

we're just going to,

like,

who cares about it?

We're not going to read about it.

We're not going to think about it.

One day,

it'll just come

and then we'll deal with it then.

Exactly.

Yeah,

my suggestion,

that wouldn't be

a very good idea.

There's a whole lot of things

you don't know

about giving birth,

but there's a whole lot

of things you can know.

And you would be wise

to read up

and to find out

what you can know.

So that one day,

when your waters break,

or those contractions start,

you don't think about it

for the very first time then.

In much the same way,

Jesus says,

there's a whole lot

about the future

that we don't know.

And you don't need

to get overly worried

and caught up about that.

But there's some stuff

you do need to know.

And Jesus is telling us

in this passage

what we do need to know.

There's a day coming

that's going to change your life,

like giving birth

to your first children.

We best be prepared for it.

And so what can we know

for certain?

Let me give us three things

from this passage.

The first one

that we know is this.

Jesus is going to come back.

And he's going to come back

and it's going to be sudden,

it's going to be personal,

it's going to be visible,

and he's going to come back

in a bodily form.

However you read Revelation,

whether you think

there's some golden age

in the future,

whether Jesus is going to come

before that or after that,

or this is the golden age,

irrespective of the sequence,

look at what John writes

to tell us.

He's telling us

that Jesus is going to come.

And when he comes,

he will finally and fully

and forever defeat Satan

and evil and wickedness

in the world.

Jesus is going to come

clothed in power and glory.

We read it earlier.

He comes with fire in his eyes.

He comes with a sword

in his mouth.

He comes with his robe

dipped in blood.

His robe is written,

the King of Kings

and the Lord of Lords.

And following behind him

is all the armies of heaven.

Listen to how Paul writes it

in 2 Thessalonians.

He says,

the Lord Jesus,

when he's revealed from heaven,

will come with his mighty angels

in flaming fire,

inflicting justice

on those who do not know God

and on those who have not obeyed

the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Friends,

the New Testament

is abundantly clear.

Jesus Christ,

and not just an image of him,

Jesus Christ,

the man,

the man who died on the cross

and rose again,

is coming again

in human bodily visible form.

Some teachers think,

no, no,

Jesus won't come,

just his spirit will come.

Or just his soul will come.

Or just the teachings

of Jesus will come.

No, friends,

Jesus Christ,

the man,

is going to come

and everybody will recognize

that he is king

and will fall down

on their knees

before him.

And Jesus tells us

that this is reason

for good hope.

I don't know

if you remember Narnia,

C.S. Lewis' Narnia,

the first book that he wrote,

which isn't the first book

in the series,

The Lion, the Witch,

and the Wardrobe.

If you saw the movie

or you read the book,

the way it starts off

is these four children,

the Pivensi children,

are at the train station

and their mom

is kissing them goodbye.

And why is she doing that?

Because it's 1943

or 1942,

whenever it is,

World War II has happened

and the German bombers

are bombing London.

And so what happened

was everybody in London

sent their children

to the towns

and the villages

and the countrysides

around the UK

to protect them

and keep them safe.

And so the children

go off to the countryside

to these foster parents

and foster families

until the war is over.

Now everybody thought

the war is going to be over

by Christmas.

Our boys in beige

are going to get them

and Christmas time

it's going to be over.

And Christmas came

and went

and then they thought,

okay, this year,

this year it's going to be done.

By Christmas this year

the war will be over.

And the war was far more

prolonged

than anyone expected.

And so what would happen

is these parents

would write to their children

in the countryside

saying,

I know things are taking

longer than you expected.

I know you hoped

that I would have returned by now.

I'm coming soon

to come and get you.

Now friends,

the children wouldn't lie

in bed at night

and wondering,

is mom and dad

going to come

on this train

or that train?

I wonder if they're going

to come before sunrise

or after sunrise.

They didn't care

how it was going to happen.

What they needed to know

was mom and dad

haven't forgotten about me.

They're coming to get me.

Soon the war will be over

and I'm going to come back

to my home.

And that's what John

is writing the book

of Revelation.

That's what it's about.

Jesus constantly comes

and he says to us,

I'm coming back.

I'm coming back.

Don't give up hope.

I know it seems

like it's been delayed.

I'm coming to get you

and to take you home.

Friends,

this is the hope

of the gospel.

The gospel isn't just

that Jesus died

on the cross

to forgive us.

That is true

and wonderful.

But that's not

the whole gospel story.

The gospel story

is Jesus is coming again

and he's going to vanquish.

That means destroy

his enemies

and he's going to bring

the new heavens

and the new earth

where there will be

no more tears

and no more pain

and no more heartache

and no more mourning

or crying

or distress.

No more anxiety

and depression

and trauma.

Jesus is coming

to bring us

to our true home.

Jesus is coming

again.

And we have to know that.

Otherwise,

in this world

we'll get depressed.

In this world

we'll be overwhelmed.

When things go wrong

we'll think,

what's the point?

Where are you God?

Jesus says,

I'm coming.

I'm coming to take you home.

We have to know that.

Okay,

that's the first thing.

The second thing is this.

Jesus is coming

to bring judgment

and to judge

the living

and the dead.

Look at what we

read here

in chapter 20

verse 11.

John writes this,

I saw a great

white throne

and I saw him

who was seated on it.

I saw the dead

great and small

standing before the throne

and the books

were opened.

Then there was another book

that was also opened

the book of life.

The dead were judged

by what was written

in the books

according to what

they had done.

The sea gave up

the dead who were in it.

Death and Hades

gave up the dead

who were in them

and they all stood

before the throne

judged each one of them

according to what

they had done.

And if anyone's name

was not found

written in the book

of life,

he was thrown

into the lake

of fire.

John sees these

two sets of books

that are opened.

And the first set

of books

is the annals

of history.

It's the story

of everyone's life,

your life

and my life

and everything

that we've done

in our lives,

not only what

we've done

but even the private

thoughts

and the personal

motivations of our hearts.

Every single thing

that we've done

or thought about

or the intention

of our lives

is written

in these books

and are laid bare

before Jesus

on the throne.

I don't know

if you've ever heard

people talking about

one day when you get

to heaven

there'll be a DVD

of our lives shown.

Anyone heard

that description?

Okay.

That comes from

this verse.

In John's day

they didn't have DVDs,

right?

They had books,

they had scrolls.

But the point here

is they're saying

every aspect,

every facet

of our lives

will be laid bare

before Jesus

and you'll hold

us accountable.

Not only for what

we've done

but even the thoughts

of our minds.

But then

John writes

and he says

there's another book.

And the other book

well if this

if we were solely

judged on what

we had done

friends each one of us

would have been

in trouble.

Remember the words

of the psalm.

Oh Lord if you should

mark our iniquities

who a God

could stand?

Romans chapter 3

Romans 3 · chapter mention

says before

the just judge

of all the earth

every mouth

will be stopped.

No more excuses,

no explanations,

no mitigating

circumstances.

One day we'll

stand before God

our mouths

will be stopped

because we'll

have no excuses,

nothing to say.

And so if we

merely judge

on the basis

of what we've

done or how

we've lived

our lives

friends we're

in deep trouble.

Who our Lord

can stand?

But then before

the great throne

of God

there's not only

justice

there's also

mercy.

Because look

a second book

is opened.

And what's

in this book?

It's the Lamb's

book of life.

And in this book

are written

the names

of those

that have

taken refuge

under the blood

of Jesus.

In this book

are written

the names

of those

that have

trusted Jesus

as their only hope.

We have

appealed to

Jesus' death

on the cross

as their hope

for forgiveness

and mercy

trusting that

Jesus was sufficient.

And so John

sees these two books

where our lives

are before us

and we're held

accountable

and even Christians

will be held

accountable.

But then there's

this other book

and look at what

it said earlier.

It said those

whose names

are written

in this book

over such people

the second death

meaning final judgment

between heaven

and hell

has no power.

We are all

exonerated

before God.

Friends

this is what it

means to be a Christian.

A Christian

is not just somebody

who does good things.

A Christian

is not just somebody

who lives a moral life.

A Christian

is not just somebody

who tries to get God

to help them

to have the best version

of themselves.

A Christian

is not just somebody

who has a nice personality

or a good persona.

A Christian

is somebody

who has come

to the end of themselves.

Who has realized

they have no hope

in this life

apart from the blood

of Jesus.

A Christian

is somebody

who realizes

that Christ

is the only hope

for forgiveness

and mercy.

Friends

a Christian

is somebody

who rejects

all man-made solutions

and trusts

in Jesus alone.

And that's what we see here.

That God will hold

every one of us

the living and the dead

every human being

accountable

for the lives

that we've lived.

God holds us

accountable

for how we've responded

to Jesus

and his offer for grace.

Whether we've rejected it

and thought we don't need it

because our lives

are good enough

or whether we

have come to him

and cast our lives

at his feet of mercy.

And do you know

what that means

that every one of us

will be judged?

It means two things.

It means firstly

that our longing

for justice

will be satisfied.

Friends,

in this world

there is so much

that is unjust

and unfair

in this world.

There's so much

that happens

and you think

where's the justice

in that?

How's anybody

going to hold

these people accountable?

How can somebody

just get away with that?

It's not right.

It's not fair.

Friends,

every one of us

in our hearts

has a longing

for justice,

right?

And that's a good thing.

Friends,

Jesus Christ,

the perfect judge

will one day judge

the living and the dead.

And that means

not a single iota

of injustice

or evil

or wrongdoing

in the world

will ever go unpunished.

Not a single iota

of it.

Every bit of injustice

will be fully satisfied

in Christ's justice.

But you know

what it also means?

It means, friends,

that we can freely

forgive those

that have wronged us.

Because when somebody

wrongs us

or hurts us,

why do we want

to take revenge?

Why do we want

to get angry

and bitter towards them?

The reason is

we often feel

somebody needs

to hold that person

accountable.

If I just forgive them,

where's the justice

in that?

They need to know

that what they've done

is wrong.

And so we hold

resentment

and bitterness

against them.

But friends,

if Jesus one day

is going to hold

every person accountable,

it means we can

freely forgive

those that have wronged us.

We don't need

to take vengeance

on them because

one day,

perfect justice

will be done.

Okay, does that make sense?

Great.

Okay, so two things

we know for certain.

Christ is coming

and he's going to come

and judge the living

and the dead.

One last thing

that we need to know

in this passage,

and that is that

Christians

and the church

will triumph

even in the face

of grace and sufferings.

One of the challenges

with Revelation chapter 20

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

is it describes

this millennium period

where,

let me actually read it to us.

Let me read chapter 20

verse 4 and 5.

It says this,

Then I saw these thrones

and seated on the thrones

were those that had

the authority to judge.

I saw the souls

of those who had been beheaded

for their testimony

and for the word of God,

those that had not worshipped

the beast or its image.

They were alive

and they reigned

with Jesus

victoriously

for a thousand years.

Now,

one of the challenges

is that this passage

tells us

that those that reign

with Christ,

those that are victorious,

are the ones

that have lost their lives.

Their heads have been

chopped off.

They are martyrs

for Jesus.

And in some ways,

that's a strange paradox.

How does that make sense?

How do those

that are killed

live?

How do those

that die

reign?

How do those

that are killed,

how do they end up

victorious?

But friends,

isn't this what Revelation

has told us again

and again

and again?

That Jesus

and his people

are victorious

but they reign

through apparent defeat.

Those who give up

their lives

for the sake of Christ

and others

are those that find it.

Tim Chester

puts it so well

where he says,

the church's reign

and victory

is a cruciform reign.

In other words,

it takes the form

or it takes the shape

of the cross,

of the crucifixion.

In other words,

the reign of Christ Jesus

and his church

is a veiled reign.

It's a hidden reign.

It's hidden

in what is contrary

or upside down.

Just think of this.

Jesus,

the night before he dies,

he goes to his disciples

and he says this,

now my moment of glory

has finally arrived.

My moment of glory

has come.

And what's he talking about?

He's talking about

his death on the cross.

How is Jesus' death

on the cross

his moment of glory?

How is the most tragic

and horrific day

in the history of the world

also the most glorious?

Friends,

the reason is

because the cross

and the resurrection

was the day

that Jesus defeated

Satan

and sin

and evil

and wickedness

and death

on the cross

and his resurrection.

As Jesus died

and rose again,

he defeated Satan.

He defanged death.

He disarmed

the power of sin.

He rescued

and redeemed

this fallen world

from the horror of sin.

At the same time,

it seemed like

the worst day

in the history

of the world

and yet,

it's the greatest day

in the history

of the world.

Jesus' apparent defeat

was his moment

of victory.

Jesus' apparent defeat

was his moment

of reigning

and ruling

over all the world.

It was a hidden

and veiled victory.

Friends,

just think about

how throughout

the New Testament,

power is found

in weakness.

greatness

is demonstrated

in service

and servant-heartedness

like washing

your disciples' feet.

Think about it

throughout the New Testament,

wisdom appears

to be foolish

because it doesn't follow

the conventions

of this world.

Friends,

throughout the New Testament,

victory and glory

are accomplished

through what seems like

defeat

and setback.

And we've seen this

throughout the world.

In fact,

we see this right now.

In the Middle East

right now,

the church

is being trampled.

In many parts of Asia,

the church

is being defeated.

Christians are being killed

daily.

Churches are being

closed down.

The gospel is being

trampled and set back.

And on one hand,

we may think,

oh no,

it's set back.

Friends,

this is the greatest hour

of the church

in those very regions.

Where the church

seems to go back,

actually it's going forward.

Where the church

seems to be dying,

actually it's flourishing.

It's the blood

of the martyrs

that's the seedbed

of the church.

In the very places

where Christians

are being killed,

that place,

the church

is most alive.

And friends,

this is the repetitive

message of Revelation.

That the martyrs,

those that are beheaded,

those that lose

their lives

for their faith,

those who trust God

even to the point

of death,

don't reign

after their martyrdom,

they reign

through their martyrdom.

Christians aren't victorious

on the other side

of suffering.

Christians are victorious

in the midst

of suffering.

Christians come alive

as they die

to themselves

and as they live

for others.

Remember what Jesus

says to the church

in Smyrna

in the second week.

He says,

do not fear

what you're about

to suffer.

Satan will come

and persecute you.

Some of you

will be killed.

Some of you

will be thrown

in prison.

But don't worry,

those that hold

on to me

will get the crown

of life

even as you die.

How do you reign

when you're dead?

Friends,

this is the paradox

of the Christian life.

That Christians reign

in the midst

of suffering

and persecution.

In chapter 11,

we saw the two witnesses

are killed

for their testimony

and yet

the nations repent.

In chapter 12,

we saw that the church

conquers the work

of Satan.

How?

Through the blood

of the Lamb,

the word of their testimony

for they loved

not their lives

even to the point

of death.

Friends,

how do you conquer

your enemy

when your life

is taken from you?

That's the shape

and the form

of the Christian life.

The Christian life

is a cruciform life.

It takes the shape

and the form

of the cross.

And this is one of the,

part of what makes

suffering

and embracing suffering

and refusing violence

so hard

is that it often

doesn't seem effective.

Think about this.

You're witnessing

and somebody

pushes back against you

and persecutes you

and you think,

what's the point in that?

Maybe I should have

just quietened down.

How does losing my life

for the sake of the gospel,

how does that actually work?

How does that affect anything?

And for the church

in Revelation,

their non-violent witness

to Jesus,

rather than taking

a position of power

and dominance

and trying to overthrow

the Roman Empire,

rather their witness

was just through

faithful suffering,

it doesn't end

in a democratic

and just Rome.

Rome doesn't turn

to the Christians

and say,

wow, you guys are right,

sorry, we should have

done things your way.

How does it end

for the Christians?

They lose their heads.

They're beheaded.

But that doesn't mean

it's not effective.

Because friends,

what happens

to the Roman Empire?

It comes to an end.

What happens

to the church?

It flourishes

and it grows.

Friends,

God's kingdom

grows as His word

is proclaimed.

As Christians

don't assume positions

of power and authority,

but as they lay down

their lives

and are faithful

to the message

of Jesus.

And so what is Jesus

saying to us here?

He's saying,

friends,

if Hong Kong

is going to get

the gospel,

if the gospel

is going to advance

in our city,

if the kingdom of God

is going to come,

how's it going to come?

It's not going to come

through demonstrations

of power.

It's not going to come

through violence

and trying to overthrow

the kingdoms

that we don't agree with.

It's going to come

through Christians

that are faithfully

proclaiming

that Jesus is Lord,

that Hong Kong

is not Lord,

that the economy

is not Lord,

that the stock market

is not Lord,

that Jesus is Lord

even in the midst

of suffering

and persecution.

Friends,

the kingdom of God

is going to come

to our city

as Christians

faithfully witness

to the lordship

of Jesus.

And that means

that we're going

to suffer for it.

That means that

maybe you won't

lose your head

but you may

lose your job.

That means that

your career

may get some setbacks.

Friends,

I was talking to

someone this week,

one of our sisters,

her company is asking

her to do unethical things

and she said,

sorry,

I can't do that.

She had to resign

her job.

Was out at work

for a couple of months.

That's suffering.

But you know what?

That might seem ineffective

but that's how

the kingdom of God

comes.

As faithful brothers

and sisters say,

our hope is not

in this world.

Our hope is in Christ

and Jesus is Lord.

The kingdom of God

comes through suffering.

Okay,

three things we need

to know.

Jesus is coming again.

Jesus is going to come

and he's going to judge

the living and the dead.

The church

and the kingdom

will advance

in the midst

of suffering

and opposition.

How do we respond?

Well,

let me give us

three things

really quickly

and then we don't.

First is this.

We need to give

careful consideration

to how we respond

to Jesus.

Jesus calls us

to follow him

and his call

is of utmost

and eternal importance.

Friends,

what matters

is not what works

for you

or what works

for me.

It's not just a matter

of personal preference.

One day when we stand

before Jesus

we can't just say

well truth is relative

and you know

what works for those guys

didn't work for me.

Friends,

we need to give

careful consideration

to our response

to King Jesus.

Jesus is summoning

every single one of us

to come

and to find our hope

in him.

Whether you are religious

or not religious

whether you are

Chinese,

American,

African,

no matter what

your background

Jesus is summoning

all of us

to come

and lay down

our lives before him.

And friends,

our eternal destiny

is in the balance

depending on how

we respond

to Christ.

Friends,

what matters

is not just

whether we went

to church or not.

What matters

is not just

whether we gave

money to the poor.

What matters

is not whether

we think we belong

to Jesus.

What matters

is do we love him?

Is he first

in our hearts?

Have we come

and given

our entire lives

to him?

Have we surrendered

to him

because he is

our only hope?

Have we cast

ourselves

at the mercy

of Jesus?

Have we taken

our hope

in the blood

of the Lamb?

Friends,

we need to give

careful consideration

to Christ's call

to come to him.

Second response

is this.

It means for those

of us that are

Christians,

this world

as we know it

is not our final

home.

And therefore,

let's not over

capitalize in this

world as we

currently know it.

Last week,

Jeremy spoke to us

about the fact

that in Hong Kong

there are so many

sojourners.

Those that come

to Hong Kong

for long periods

of time,

but this city

is not their home.

They are always

going back to

another place

that will be

their home.

The Bible says

that if you are

a Christian,

you are a sojourner,

which means that

this world

as we currently

know it,

is not your

final home.

Picture this with me.

Imagine you have

a home,

massive typhoon,

a T10,

sweeps through

Hong Kong,

and your home

has got severe

damage done to it.

You can't live

there anymore.

And so you've

got to move

to another place,

a temporary

accommodation,

for six weeks

while your home

is being repaired.

Okay?

Maybe some of you

had to do that

last year.

So you're in

temporary accommodation

for six weeks

while your home

is being repaired.

It would be crazy

to overcapitalize

on that home,

to spend millions

of dollars

fixing it up

because there are

slight inconveniences,

to bash down walls

and redo the whole kitchen

just while you're there

for six weeks.

There might be some things

that are inconvenient,

and what do you do?

You just put up

with those inconveniences

because you know