Revelation 20:4-6 Objections

Okay. Well, hey, welcome back. It's been a while and it's good to be back. Thank you all for all of your prayers during my absence and for your patience. We are going to get into our study, but there are a couple of things that I want to say before we get into the study today, and it's not going to be the maybe the same study that you were expecting. We are going to talk about some things that's related to the subject. So let me first of all say good morning. Good morning to Rod. I know he's on Eric is here. Alexander and Robin Robin. Welcome back to you. I guess you're back. I know you've been on vacation along with your sister. So happy and safe travels. Let's see. It looks like pretty much it for now. Richard is here and I'm sure that others will be joining us in the very near future. And to those of you who do come in afterwards, we are grateful and thankful that you tune in with us on Sunday mornings. Now as we are returning to our studies after a long vacation, which I make no excuses for because it was definitely needed and appreciated. It was also some business involved in that as well. But I'm thankful to be back and grateful for the opportunity I can't say that I'm ready to just dive back in full force at this point after you've been off for a while, you know, you kind of get relaxed into things and so it'll take a minute before the grind really cranks back up but the time has come ready or not in season and out of season. We have to go for it. It was an enjoyable time off it, you know involves some preaching and in two regions and some Bible studies in another region, but I certainly enjoyed that along with the other things that had to be done. Let me announce today that I'm going to be away for the next two Sundays and I can't avoid that but I have to be away for the next two Sundays and then after I return from that then we'll be back on our regular schedule and maybe we'll finish up the book of Revelation. Just got some issues that I have to deal with and even some more teaching that schedule. But today I want to say that for those of you who are the YouTube listeners. This is a milestone reached in terms of my recording videos on YouTube. Now this of course is Facebook, but this one will be uploaded to YouTube. I usually send it over to my tech person and he uploads it on YouTube, which I am so grateful for I can't imagine over the years. I used to do all of that stuff on my own and when I finally found someone to help me on two fronts of my technical support. It has just made a I mean, it's changed my life really in terms of that and so I don't have to worry about uploading videos and my artwork being taken care of by brother Tyrone. He is doing an outstanding job. I've been getting compliments from people on the artwork and the video views have gone up significantly as a result. So it isn't just you know, what's being said, but it's you know, that marketing that's attracting people through the way he presents the titles of the lesson and the artwork that he's doing. So I want to commend him highly for that because he does a good job and he never complains about it. It seems like he enjoys doing it and I'm really grateful. He has a great personality Tyrone. I just really really appreciate working with you and all the members at Rains Road, but you certainly have added something to the ministry in terms of making sure that we present ourselves a little better and we still have things that as you and I have said we're going to work on. As I said today marks a milestone on my YouTube channel, you know, I haven't counted the videos I've done on Facebook and I've gone through several phases of that, you know with the radio broadcast and and then transitioning back to just doing them straight here. But this will be the 1,000th video since I started doing videos online in 2007. At that time. I don't know if any preterists were doing videos online, but I knew that we had to break into social media and and so I did and I took me a while to convince Don to get on and I know Don has done way more videos than I have and he still does more than I do and that's because his work ethic is just off the chain, but I commend him highly for that. Everybody's acknowledged, you know, how much output that he does. But for me, you know, this is good enough, you know, it's a thousand videos and that's saying something I believe, you know, I remember back when we were all working together when Don Jack Larry and I were working together in particular with Don and Jack, you know, I was working full-time at the time and still preaching full-time, you know with the congregation, you know doing that work and then doing the eschatology and the conferences Etc. And Don and Jack were working full-time with their congregations and they didn't have an outside job. They didn't have a secular job. So I was trying to keep up with them the whole time and then they would get at least I know Jack did. I don't know about done. I don't want to falsely accuse him, but I know he took some time off but Jack would get like a three-month vacation because of all the work all the labor and all the stress Etc. And I didn't you know, I just had to keep going keep plugging with two jobs and and then doing the work in the conferences Etc. And I used to you know, rag those guys a little bit about it that you know, I had to do all of that and then I know done would take off. Sometimes you may take, you know, two or three weeks or a month or something like that. And so I didn't get a chance to take off as much. So now when I get a chance to take off I have no shame non whatsoever and I do appreciate it and it definitely helps to reinvigorate you from certain point. But anyway, I'm not putting those guys down. I know they needed the rest too and a lot of times people don't understand how important that is, you know in doing this and you know, it involves so much sometimes when you're doing that kind of work. So I hope hope hope that you helped me to celebrate, you know, this 1000 videos that will be on YouTube. I looked on and it kind of surprised me and I saw 999. I said, wow, what a place to stop. And so I said I got at least do one more video. So if I don't do any more after this at least I reached a thousand right and to be honest, I think that when you look at any of our channels, you know, whether it's done or mine or some of the others have done a significant output of videos. There's enough on either of these channels for people getting started in eschatology and even moving along the way to have pretty much I would say a seminary education on the subject of eschatology particularly fulfilled eschatology and I think that counts for something. I do get responses from people who make those kind of remarks in terms of how they have been able to grow significantly as a result of that. And so we appreciate those comments as well. And I want to thank all of you who have helped the channel to grow who offered your moral and financial support your comments pro and con to make the studies and my growth in knowledge possible. It took about 18 years to accomplish that if my math is correct and that's a lot of study a lot of long sleepless nights and you know rising and and trying to dig through information and try to understand it and work things out some of which you know, you've not even considered before like the book of Revelation and work through some of these things. So it's it's kind of tough and the feedback from some of you have has been very encouraging and sometimes just amazing especially those of you who have demonstrated how much knowledge you have on the subject and how it's increased as well and changes that we all make in transitioning and particularly those who have transitioned from futurism and dispensationalism into the study fulfill eschatology. And so today what I'm going to do is a little bit different. I'm going to look at a few of the objections as a matter of fact, I just got an opportunity to go back and look at the video that I did the last time I presented and I hope this background thing is not too distracting. I decided to use it. I don't know if I need to take it off. If it's too distracting somebody just say that and I'll just go ahead and click the button and take that off so that you don't have to deal with that situation. So I says Carl Albert has 4,000. He's got 4,000, but he doesn't have 4,000 videos that are teaching the truth. Let's put it that way. That's just a kid because I know both of them and I'm just teasing with them. Look, you know, it's I'm not in a race in terms of the the number. I'm just here to try to present as much truth as possible. And so you tell Carl I said congratulations on his 4,000 and we'll just keep working along the way at any rate. We're going to look at a few of the objections. And so if this background kind of flashing in and out is not bothering you too much. We'll leave it as it is if I need to change it. So just say so and I will do that. But I went back and looked at some of the objections that we got and oftentimes we don't get a chance to talk about them. And sometimes we just answer them right on the channel. Maybe some people don't read them and I found some great comments sometimes and going back and looking at them and and responding every time. I don't get a chance to do that. But when I do it's it's good. So let's look at the comments that we got from the lesson on last week. I mean on the last time I was here. Remember we talked from Revelation chapter 20 verses 4 through 6. We talked about the reign of the Saints the millennial reign of a thousand years and the martyrs those who were seated on thrones those who lived and reigned with Christ Etc. The first resurrection and we talked about the rest of the dead. So all of those things were involved in the in the study. And by the way, even if you're counting now, you got to understand that these are not the only videos that I do. I do another three or four videos per week. So I don't know if call can compete with that, but we don't put those online. Some of those are from our personal Bible studies and and then you know, there are others as well. But I you know, I don't even count the YouTube videos. I mean the Facebook videos in that number that you see necessarily some of them are included, but I'm not in the contest about that at any rate. So the first comment that I looked at in terms of maybe an objection. Is this one? It says my spirit tells me that we are waiting. And I don't understand this word here. It spells CER in I don't know what they meant by that or if that was a typo. But anyway, the essence of it is there that they're waiting for the loosing of Satan everything up until that point is past tense. So they're commenting on the terms that I used in the text when I did the statement and I talked about live and rain were past tense verbs. And so they were looking at something that had pretty much already occurred as an already but there was a not yet aspect to it because the consummation had not yet occurred simply because these were things that were shortly to come to pass. And so there was still a brief period of time in which those things had to be consummated. But at any rate, he says my spirit or she I'm not sure my spirit tells me that we are waiting for the loosing of Satan everything up until that point is past tense. He must be loosed for a short season is forward-looking new subscriber here from Shelly's channel greetings and blessings to all. All right. First of all, let me thank you for submitting that comment and for making that point. I do understand what you're saying. I don't agree with it because we're looking at a book that has been completely fulfilled. All of these things have now been fulfilled and we're into the results of that fulfillment not an ongoing status of fulfillment or state of fulfillment as it relates to that. And yes at the time of writing this the scripture talks about the loosing of Satan for a short time and we even have to be careful and that was one of the things I was going to talk about in the next section or that I will talk about in the next section in how some of this language has to be accommodative in the way that's being used in the text, but nevertheless, even from Revelation chapter 12 and chapter 20, we see this idea of a future perspective. Let's look at Revelation 10 chapter 12 verses 10 through 12. It says then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come for the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice. Oh heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea for the devil has come down to you having great wrath because he knows that he has a short time. Now, let's just think about that for just a moment. The text says that he knows that he has a short time and Israel's entire history was about 1500 years. We're already at a period that is longer than the entire history of Israel from the perspective of their receiving the law in Mount Sinai. And yet the Bible here says that he has a short time and if you're going to extend this little while even in our future, well, that makes it longer than the entire period since 70 AD and that doesn't in my judgment qualify for a short time. So I would have to dismiss that one altogether when you look again in Revelation 20, you know, it speaks about verse 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal on him so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while and I believe that parallels with Revelation chapter 12 and verse 12 in terms of the short time so that we have to see these things in a brief period of time and not extend them far out. And that's what I think the commenter was doing on this response that they gave but nevertheless, you know, we appreciate that. I don't think there's much more that needs to be said about it. I will talk about it a little bit in next week's message, but I'm going to leave it at that as far as the time period is involved here for the short time. I think just kind of simple reasoning and math would eliminate that as a real solid point of view. The second comment that I saw was this idea of no more pain. This is another one that Futurists don't seem to be able to get their minds wrapped around and even some maybe in the Preterist community. And yes, there are some in the Preterist community because I hear the objection all the time and they want to negate the fulfillment of all Bible prophecy because they revert back to Futurism or to materialism and physical concepts to talk about the fulfillment. And so when they see the terms, no more pain, no more sorrow, no more crying, no more death, what's in their mind is physical pain, physical death, physical crying, you know, tears dropping from your eyeballs and and physical death, which obviously cannot be the meaning of these texts if they're going to be consistent with the time frame. You know, I just don't think some people really got a good foundation when they came into the Preterist view on some things. I didn't grab a handkerchief this morning and seems like I'm had a little sinus drain here. But first of all, this no more pain is covenantal terminology. It's not physical terminology. It's information related to the covenant. I've even written a track on this call. No more tears. And you know, hoping that it would help people to understand this a little bit better. But here's the objection. It says Genesis 131 God made Earth and God looked at everything that he made. Behold. It was very good. No death, no crying, no sorrow, no curse, no pain, no disease, no sickness. It was very good. Now, I think there's a problem right there because this writer is arguing for no death at the time of Genesis 1 and I reject that wholeheartedly. One thing that two things that God did when we look at the creation of Genesis 1. Now, I know there's there's the covenant creation model and I'm looking into that. I'm not afraid to look into that and there are some things that I like about it. And and I'll say that at the same time. I'm not fully convinced that that's what it is, but I can look at it from both ways at least for now, but let's just look at it from the standpoint of the physical which is what this writer is doing. Okay. If you argue that there was no death and there are variations on this because there are some people who say well, the animals were capable of dying. But human beings were not that is before Adam's sin before the recording of or let's just say before sin. However, in Genesis 1 God told them to be fruitful and multiply. Now, if you let that sink in be fruitful and multiply why because if they did not obey that command they would eventually be diminished from the earth. Just looking at it from that perspective be fruitful and multiply. Now, if you don't think that's true, perhaps some of you are not studying or paying attention to the demographics and science that's going on now discussing population that we have many nations even today that are diminishing or in a state of population decline. Now, I know Bill Gates has been running around telling everybody too many people on the earth. That's totally untrue. But many countries are in a state of decline and they are soliciting people to come to these countries. They are trying to pay people to make babies and offering them all kinds of incentives free houses free land everything. And here's what some of the historical evidence and science says once a nation starts into population decline. It has never been reversed. You have to produce about 2.1 or 2.3 children just to keep up and make sure that you're replacing at a rate faster than you're losing them. Go do the research. I have a book on my shelf here somewhere. Here it is empty planet. If you haven't read this one and they got think tanks. I don't know if you you can see it with the way I've got go read it. You can't see let me take this this off because it is really it's kind of bugging me now. I'm going to just go ahead and take it off. Now you can see clearly I think there was a song made about that. Now, I got to find my way back to Facebook. Let's see where I am. Yeah, this is this is it. Okay. Here's the book. It's called empty planet the shock of global population decline. Now they have even a website where they're doing lectures. They're doing studies all around the world about these things. So that's a mandate God gave to creation and renewed it after the flood be fruitful and multiply and throughout the scriptures. Maybe I need to do a lesson on that one day. But they're in this state of decline and they say once you enter that state number one, they cannot predict the rapidity in which it occurs because it goes faster than what they imagine and number two, it's irreversible. So that's one thing. I don't think God was that unwise to create a world and put it in a situation where it would no longer exist and just being a preterist and understanding that there is no end of the physical world should teach us that we ought to have a long-term focus. I remember once I was in a seminar, one of these self-development seminars and the gentleman who conducted the seminar, pretty wise man, and he asked the question to all of us. There's about, you know, maybe a hundred of us in the room and he asked the question says, what's your 500-year plan? That just blew me away and I was a preterist. What's your 500-year plan? See, most of us just think one generation down. Maybe, some of us don't even think that far. But if we're preterists, we ought to have a 500, a thousand year and more plan for the growth of these things instead of short-term thinking like the futurist does. The futurists say, okay, let's get out of here real quick. Everything is going, you know, haywire and we need to escape. Let's get out. Let's have the Lord come and take us out of here. Ship us on out. They have a short-term view. Yeah, Alan, I agree with you. This is much better. I thought it would work, but it just is too distracting. So back to this no more we're going to run out of time on just two points and I have about 10 of them. So maybe we'll extend this a little bit. But anyway, what does the Bible mean? I said these were covenantal terms. The other point that I want to make from Genesis is in the very verse that he's talking about where God made food. Try not eating and not drinking and see what that does for you. Please don't do it. Maybe some of us could do it for a short time and it would help but don't do that for the extended period of time. It will be fatal to your health. So God said be fruitful and multiply and he said I've given you every herb for food. This is how you sustain your physical life. Now, maybe there's deeper spiritual meanings of that in another point of view, but I'm not even going to explore that at this point. I'm just going to deal with it on the level where the writer is commenting. Now, I want you to notice something in Exodus chapter 2 when Israel is in Egypt and that's an interesting study within itself as well. They went to Egypt with 70 souls and some say within a period of 36 years. They had outnumbered Egypt. But anyway, let's look at the other point that I want to make in Exodus chapter 2 and verse 25 23 through 25. I believe this it says now in it happens gives me in the process of time that the king of Egypt died then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage and they cried out and their cry came up to God because of the bondage now, listen to this very carefully. Here is Israel in bondage and the Bible says they groaned you should underline that or circle that in your Bible because that is a very important eschatological term. You can see it in second Corinthians 5 among other texts in the New Testament, but it says they groaned because of the bondage and remember Egyptian bondage is the type of the second Exodus bondage of the New Testament under the law. And so he says and they did what they cried out and their cry came up to God. Why? Because of the bondage now were they crying because they dropped the brick on their toe? Were they crying because somebody slapped him on the face? Were they crying because maybe they cut their hand? No, it wasn't about physical pain. It was about their being in bondage as the covenant people of God. Now watch how God remedied it. He didn't pick up a box of Kleenex tissues and say wipe your weeping eyes and try to console them from that perspective. He offered them a covenantal solution to their pain to their groaning and to their crying notice. So God verse 24 heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham with Isaac and with Jacob and God looked upon the children of Israel and acknowledge them. Now, what was in the covenant a promise that they would be delivered from Egypt. So let's just reason with that. If the bondage in Egypt was the cause of their groaning and their crying then if you remove that which caused the groaning and the crying meaning free them give them Liberty take them out from under that oppression and persecution. What happens to the groaning? What happens to the crying? It's gone. You remove that which caused it. Now, follow this through and I know we're out of time. Follow this through in the 137th Psalm when Israel is again in captivity under the Babylonians at least that's the reference here and watch what the text says by the rivers. This is verse 1 of Babylon there. We sat down gay we wept. Well, did they not cry anywhere else in the world? Were they did they cry physically and in Israel? Of course they did. But see this is related to their bondage by the rivers of Babylon there. We sat down gay. We wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our hearts. That's another thing. They can't sing songs of joy when they're in bondage and he tells you that we hung our hearts upon the willows in the midst of it for there those who carried us away captive ask of us a song. See we invented the blues for pain and sorrow for there those who carried us away captive ask of us a song and those who plundered us required merch. They wanted us to have fun have a party smile. Saying sing us one of the songs of Zion. Look at their response. How shall we sing the Lord song in a foreign land? Did you get that? I wasn't that they didn't know the words to the song. They said how do we sing songs of Zion songs of rejoicing songs of happiness songs of freedom songs of Liberty in a foreign land. If I forget you all Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill. If I do not remember you let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth. If I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy. Remember O Lord against the sons of Edom the day of Jerusalem who said raise it raise it that's when Nebuchadnezzar was destroying them to its very foundation and Edom joined in kick them while they were down old daughters of Babylon who are to be destroyed happy the one who repays you just like Revelation 18 rejoice over her you apostles and prophets for God has avenged you on her same idea happy the one who repays you as you have served us happy the one who takes and dashes your little ones against a rock now and I'm extending this just slightly because we had a long introduction, but I'm almost done. I'm just going to touch on this very quickly. Hopefully, you're getting the point in Isaiah chapter 65 notice the language here and you can find these in many other passages of Scripture. I'm just touching the highlights of these of these points and Isaiah 65 notice what the text says let's start. I'm going to start at verse 13. So you kind of get a gist therefore the Lord thus says the Lord God behold. My servant shall eat but you should be hungry behold. My servant shall drink but you should be thirsty behold. My servant shall rejoice but you shall be ashamed behold. My servant shall sing for joy of heart but you should cry for sorrow of heart and wait and Wales gives me for grief of spirit. Why because he's going to bring retributive judgment on them. You shall leave your name as a curse to my chosen for the Lord God will slay you and call his servants by another name. So that he who blesses himself in the urge of bless himself in the God of truth and he who swears in the earth shall swear by the God of truth because the former troubles you see the oppression the persecution the captivity Etc. Are forgotten and because they are hidden from my eyes for I for behold. I create new heavens and a new Earth. See this is exactly Revelation 21 and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind but be glad and rejoice forever in what I create or behold. I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and join my people. The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her nor the voice of crying. Why because they have been delivered from their bondage from the persecution from those who martyred and murdered them. That's covenantal. That's covenantal judgment on those who were destroying them destroying the church persecuting them and when they were destroyed when that temple fell and when God brought the Roman judgment against them that ended their time of groaning and also the end of the bondage of the law that ended the time of their groaning and of their crying and of their tears and of their sorrow and of their death not physical death and that's why they could rejoice. That's the meaning of Revelation 21 and verse 4 behold. I saw a new heaven and a new Earth for the first heaven and the first first Earth were passed away and there was no more sea and I John saw the Holy City New Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned for a husband and I heard a loud voice from heaven saying behold the tabernacle of God is with men and he shall be with them and they shall be his people and he will be their God at verse 4 and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There should be no more death nor sorrow nor crime. There should be no more pain for the former things just like in Isaiah 65 have passed away and he who sat on the throne said behold. I make all things new that's the context of no more sorrow. It comes out of the Exodus. It's an Exodus motif. It has to do with being in bondage being under oppression being persecuted. It's not about look you need tears from what I go look it up on the internet. I did the study once go look it up on the internet and I think I might have it in the tractor whatever and see why tears are necessary for your health and you want God to stop them all together. No, but he did stop them because of the covenant issues that Israel had and that's what that's all about. Look, we're out of time. Thank you for helping me make this 1000 journey videos and Alan will have that uploaded very soon. So appreciate you on that. It's time to get out of here. Good to be back. Remember I'll be gone for two Sundays, but I'll be back after that and thank you all for listening this morning. I appreciate everybody who was here Stewart Deb Alan Steven and Beatrice sigh and Richard think we got all the rest before Alan. I don't know if I mentioned your name and Alexander and Robin Etc. Eric all of you. Thank you for tuning in. I hope that you got something beneficial from the message today and we're going to say good morning to you. God bless and we'll see you at the next appointed time.