We almost have to apologize to the good men reading our scriptures through this series because just one verse at a time doesn’t give them much to read. So Jeff was only half kidding about, you know, taking off and reading a little more there. But in the book of Revelation, we are going through just chapter one, but a verse at a time, a verse for each message. The book of Revelation is just that. It’s a revelation, not a mystery, as we have noticed. God has revealed these things to us. He’s given it to us in a book that we can understand and read and know these things. But chapter one is really a study of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Chapters two and three, a study of the church. And then in chapter four, we would begin in earnest studying the prophetic things in the book of Revelation. But verse six that we are looking at today is as much of a prophecy as anything in chapter one that tells us of future things, even for us.
Let me remind you of where we are. If we went back to verse four a couple weeks ago, we would find that John expresses here that there is grace and peace to all of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ to Savior. There’s the grace of God that we have found that has saved us. And there is the peace of God. We have peace with God.
We have the peace of God. And then he says that this grace and peace comes to us through the Godhead. He mentions first God the Father. And he says of God the Father that he is the one who is and which was and which is to come. We notice those characteristics about God. Secondly, grace and peace come to us from the Holy Spirit. We have this unique reference to him as the seven spirits which are before his throne.
We looked at that a little bit. And then thirdly, grace and peace comes to us through Jesus Christ. Last week in verse five, we began to look at the Lord Jesus Christ. And he says about Christ who is, you notice in verse five, three things. He is the faithful witness. He is the first begotten of the dead.
He is the prince of the kings of the earth. So grace and peace can come to us through Christ because he is these things forever and always will be. And then unto him be. But before he says unto him be, he says unto him that in verse five, unto him that.
And he’s going to mention three other things about Jesus Christ. These are things that he has done. He has loved us. Secondly, the end of verse five. He has washed us from our sins in his own blood. And then the third thing he’s going to say about the Lord Jesus Christ that he has done for us is the beginning of verse six, our text for today. He’s made us to be kings and priests unto God and his father. Then he’ll finally say to him, to the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. But to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen. So it’s taken John three verses to say hello in the book of Revelation and to tell, to get sent us greeting in this formal way, if you will, from God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He’s loved us. Jesus Christ has. He’s washed us and he has made us kings and priests. Do you feel like a king and a priest today? Maybe we don’t always in this life. But again, I say this is very prophetic and we’ll see that this expression that we are kings and priests has to do with the great future that is in store for us when we see the Lord Jesus Christ face to face. There is throughout 2000 years of church history a historic difference in the way people have viewed not only the book of Revelation, but coming things.
You know, I was thinking about this. I want you to think about this before we get right back into the verse that when you’re studying the scriptures, there’s lots of avenues of truth that you can go down, isn’t there? We don’t want it to be a rabbit trail, but as I’ve always said, if you’re going to chase a rabbit, at least catch it and kill it. But you know, I think of it more kind of like a narrow passageway off the main. If you will go with me to Edinburgh this May, you can go to London and Edinburgh with us and study church history. In Edinburgh, that old ancient city, the narrow cobblestone streets in the tall stone buildings and all as you’re walking around in the streets, you find these little alleyways that go off the main street. They call them a close, not an alley up there, a close.
You can see why. And if you follow one of those, you go back and find all kinds of neat things in the city of Edinburgh. Well, I find sometimes in the scriptures, as we’re studying it, there are avenues to put line upon line, precept upon precept, hear a little there a little and gain knowledge of the word of God about a number of things and tie them together. So let me put this thought in your head today that people have looked at the scripture in different ways because they’ve interpreted it different, right? And so when we think about future things, and especially what we’re going to talk about for us as being kings and priests, we believe that there is a coming kingdom of God on this earth, yet in our future, where Jesus Christ will return and He will reign, He will be here on this earth in Jerusalem for a thousand years. And we call that the millennium, of course, because it’s a thousand years. As a matter of fact, I want you to turn over to chapter 20 and notice this because it’s important that we see that this millennium is coming to this earth and we’re going to be there and be in that kingdom of God as kings and priests. Now, chapter 20, if we read the whole first seven verses, six times in these verses you will see the expression a thousand years. Now, now before you look at those, get your bearings in the book of Revelation.
From chapter 4 to chapter 19, John has zeroed in on the tribulation period, the seven-year tribulation period. This is when the Antichrist will reign. This is when Gog and Magog will attack Israel.
This is when Armageddon will come to a close at the end of these seven years. And then in chapter 19, if you began in verse 11, Jesus Christ comes out of the sky and returns to the earth. Now that’s been the bulk of the teaching that John wants to give us in the book of Revelation.
It’s not his purpose to explain the details of the Millennial Kingdom. The prophets have done that in huge ways. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and his great prophecies, they have explained many many details about the coming kingdom of God.
So John just mentions it, but assumes that by now surely we know these details of the kingdom of God. So in verse 2 he said, he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. He’s not bound yet. And you and I can’t bind him, no matter how many times we would like to say so. But he will be bound by the Lord himself for a thousand years. In the end of verse 3, he will deceive the nations no more till the thousand years are fulfilled. Then along verse 4, and at the end of verse 4 it says they lived and reign with Christ a thousand years. Verse 5, the rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years were finished. In other words, the believers will be resurrected before the thousand years and unbelievers after the thousand years. And then in verse 6, in the middle of that verse, they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years. Connecting of course our text in chapter 1 and verse 6 to this thousand year reign of Christ. And verse 7, when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.
And it tells a little about what he will do until the end of chapter 20. You have the white throne judgment and those that are brought before God at the white throne judgment that are lost whose names are not in the book of life and they’re cast into a lake of fire forever and ever. And then chapter 21 and 22 speak about the new Jerusalem and heaven, the streets of gold, the gates of pearl, and all of those things that we know about heaven.
Now here you have then in seven short verses these direct statements there is a kingdom of God coming. Now I say this and we read this again to tell you this, that it is only those of us who call ourselves pre-millennialists who believe this is really going to happen. And there have been others who call themselves post-millennialists and amillennialists. They don’t believe that there will actually be a thousand year span of time literally a thousand years where Jesus will be on David’s throne in Jerusalem and where the desert will blossom as a rose, the lion and the lamb will lie down together and so forth. They believe these things are to be taken some other way spiritually, allegorically, or whatever. And when you leave off the literal interpretation of this and you say, I don’t believe this is literally going to happen, then you’ve become something other than a pre-millennialist. If you take these things literally, Jesus is going to come before this thousand years pre-millennial. And we are going to live and reign with Christ for a thousand years on this earth. He will be here.
We will be here with Him. and then after that the white throne and heaven and so forth. So we take these things literally and as we read the scriptures whether we’re reading in Isaiah or Ezekiel I love Ezekiel 40 through 48. If you want to read about the kingdom of God and what’s going to happen in those thousand years go to Ezekiel begin in chapter 40 and read through chapter 48 you’ll read about the desert blossoming as a rose. You’ll read about Israel restored to their land. You’ll read about the millennial kingdom being built in it’s a mile square temple in the center of Jerusalem on a 50 square mile flattened area and the temple will be built there and Jesus will sit in that temple and we will go up to Jerusalem at least once a year to worship the King for a thousand years. And Ezekiel describes it all so I would ask you are those things ever going to happen and if you say well I kind of think that there’s you know we’re supposed to take this kind of spiritually or allegorically or poetically or somewhere like that and you think that the millennial kingdom is some kind of maybe ethereal image that you have in your mind you know and if you’re heavenly minded then you’re in the kingdom of God or something like that then you simply don’t take the Bible for what it says.
Bible says these things are going to happen. I have a great illustration because there’s an author that I have loved to read and his name is George Peters George N. H. Peters and he lived from 1825 to 1909 some of you knew him. He lived in Ohio and the reason I like him is I’m a buck eye you know a hairless nut with little or no commercial value and he was a buck eye too. He lived he was born and raised in Springfield Ohio and he was a Lutheran pastor. Now if you know anything about our Lutheran friends you know that they don’t believe that there’s a literal kingdom of God coming to the earth.
Luther didn’t believe it and Lutherans today don’t they interpret the Bible in a different way but Peters was so taken by the concept of a kingdom he was a country pastor in Springfield Ohio in the mid 1800s. Meaning he had to ride around on a horse and buggy and didn’t have email didn’t have the internet to check and things like that. He had to study on his own.
He was a sickly man and in the later years of his life never got out of his house and died not really as an older man well 2509 that’s not bad. And he began studying the kingdom of God and in his study compiled 2200 pages. I could have brought you the three volumes.
I’ve read through two and one of these days I want to read through the third each volume about 900 pages you know eight to 900 pages. Here’s a country pastor in Ohio in the mid 1800s and he quotes 4,000 separate authors and writers concerning the kingdom of God. To make a long story short when he began studying the Scripture and reading it for what he is he changed from being an Amillennialist to being a Premillennialist. He came to the conclusion this is going to have to happen this kingdom is going to have to come to this earth. Well the Lutheran church didn’t like that they excommunicated him, defrocked him.
As a matter of fact it became very difficult to find out anything about George Peters for years and years and those trying to write his biography could find nothing no record of him until the Chamber of Commerce in Springfield, Ohio revealed some newspaper clippings from the time of his death and that’s how people put together his biography. And here is such a great scholar a man like that from those days who’s in just taking the Scripture for what it is said this is going to have to happen on this earth. Jesus is going to return and there’s going to be a thousand year kingdom of God on this earth and you and I are going to be there in some capacity. So back to Revelation chapter one now folks and when we come to a statement like this that we have that we will be kings and priests unto God there is more said here than we can cover in this hour but we’re going to make an attempt. Christ has loved us Christ has washed us and then in verse six Christ hath made us and what has he made us kings and priests. I said a minute ago you may not feel much like a king or a priest today and we are not in the kingdom of God yet but we’re as good as there and as far as God is concerned it’s like we are betrothed to our bride groom and though we’re not married yet we are the bride of Christ even though we’re still in the engagement period and though we’re not reigning as kings and priests yet we’re as good as there. Ephesians chapter two says that we were dead in trespasses sin but he’s quickened us together with Christ and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
I mean we’re as good as there sitting in heavenly places in Christ Jesus verse 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of times that has to be the kingdom of God he might gather together in one all things in Christ both which are in heaven and which are on earth even in him or Colossians one thirteen who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son we’re as good as there it’s called proleptical tense and that is it is something that is sure and certain just as if you were in heaven today you’re not there but you’re going to be there. So remember the verse in 1 Peter 2 9 where Peter says to us you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that you should show forth the praises of him with called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Do you know that you are a royal priesthood and yet you’re not ruling as a priest yet? You are a holy nation but you’re not there in that nation yet? I kind of like that expression because I would think it would be a royal nation and a holy priesthood but rather we are a royal priesthood, a holy nation meaning when we reign as kings and priests we are kings that are as holy as priests and we are priests that will be as royal as kings reigning in the kingdom of God with him. Now again back to our text we are first of all kings, he has made us unto our God kings and priests but what’s the next phrase in chapter 5? We shall reign on the earth. Kings and priests and we shall reign upon the earth. Let me remind you of what you continued with me in my temptations and I appoint unto you a kingdom as my father hath appointed unto me that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel.
Do you ever think about that? That when Peter and I mean James and John came and said to the Lord, Lord can we sit one on one side and one on the other? The Lord did not say oh you don’t know what you’re talking about. The Lord simply said to James and John it’s not mine to give you that it’s the fathers to appoint those seats but you will be sitting on 12 tribes judging the 12 tribes of Israel. Revelation chapter 4 and verse 4 when John is in heaven he looks around it says round about the throne were 4 and 20 seats and upon the seats I saw 4 and 20 elders sitting clothed in white raiment and they had on their head crowns of gold these are believers that are in heaven during the tribulation period and they are already sitting on seats around the throne of God. If we went back to chapter 20 and verse 6 we would find they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years.
225 there shall be no night there they need no candle neither light of the sun for the Lord God giveth them light and they shall reign forever and ever. Now what these verses tell us folks is you and I are going to reign with Christ forever. If we went back to the book of Daniel where Daniel is prophesying of the kingdom of God where Christ will rule notice what he says in chapter 7 I’ll read these verses 718 of the book of Daniel but the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever even forever and ever. Verse 22 until the ancient of days came and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Verse 27 the kingdom and dominion the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. In other words we are the people of God and this kingdom is going to be given to us. Now John only said it’s a thousand years and I’m not going to talk much about it. Daniel has given us all kinds of detail and so have the other prophets so we will be there and we will be reigning there.
Now let me challenge your thinking here too. History folks is full of carnage of people who thought we could be reigning now. It is full of mistakes made by Christians who thought that we could set up the kingdom of God by human means on this earth now and that somehow we could take control of everything. There are certain theologies that have come up with that. Our Roman Catholic friends though I don’t believe that they have the personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ they believe that the church and the state should rule together and the church should rule the kingdom and that’s why they could do things like the crusades and other things because they felt they had the right as kings and priests in the kingdom of God to do those things.
Now how did they come to that conclusion? Because rather than interpreting the Bible literally and believing that we’re going to be in that kingdom in the future have thought that the kingdom somehow exists now in a spiritual sense and the Roman church is the kingdom of God and they are the kings and priests in the kingdom. But our Mormon friends also believe that they are the lost 10 tribes of Israel and the kingdom of God has been planted on the shores of North America and they are supposed to rule in this country though it’s not worked out that way for them but they believe that they should have and they should have been the kingdom of God here or there are lesser people like a Jim Jones or a David Koresh who believe that they were setting up a kingdom and had theocratic rule over people on this earth now. What I’m telling you is history is full of the carnage of wrong interpretation about the kingdom of God but we who are premillennial preach no political gospel, God’s people live in every country of the world, sometimes in freedom, sometimes in persecution, sometimes in good economic times, sometimes in bad economic times. Christians can be American citizens, Christians can be Russian citizens, can be Chinese citizens of this earth, but we’re all citizens of a future coming kingdom of God.
We have no political and social gospel. We can support whatever government we live under. We can be good citizens. We can pay our taxes. We can serve in the military. We can serve on a police force and be good citizens doing, helping the government, which is ordained by God for this dispensation, to be doing these things. And yet all the time, knowing that we as future kingdom citizens must be separate from the sins of this world.
And we do that. And so we are kings waiting for our kingdom. Secondly, we are priests guarding the holy things. Now in chapter 20, as I read to you already in verse 6, blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection, which we will all have part in, on such the second death hath no power, they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years. Now there is a sense folks, and it’s true that we are now what the Bible calls believer priests or we call believer priests, meaning right now we have certain prerogatives of the priesthood. Let me remind you of those in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 19, having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Christ.
No one in the Old Testament could do that, but the high priest. But you and I, every time we pray, we are entering into God’s holy place in heaven as a priest would enter in to pray before God in the holy place. Every time we pray by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say his flesh and having a high priest over the house of God, which is Christ, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. We come into the holy of holies before God’s throne even now when we pray, because God even now sees us as priests. We have no earthly priesthood.
Jesus Christ is our high priest and every born again believer on this earth is part of the priesthood. Chapter 13, verse 10, we have an altar where of they have no right to eat, which served the tabernacle. 1315 by him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually.
That is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. So our lives that we live before God, those are our offerings that we bring before God’s throne as his priesthood. So we really are in a real sense priests even now, but we will be priests in the millennial kingdom of God. We will be here on the earth doing these things. Consider this, we’ll be in glorified bodies.
And some of us, you know, say amen. We’ve been waiting for that for a long time. Finally, this old body will be changed and it will be fit for heaven, will be changed in the moment and twinkling of an eye, whether raptured out or resurrected out. And this body will be changed and our sinful nature will be gone and we’ll not have the possibility of even sinning anymore. We will be resurrected, born again, children of God living on the earth with Jesus Christ who is resurrected and has his eternal body also.
Wouldn’t that be a great thing? We will be the bride of Christ. Israel will be Israel and they’ll have their place in the promised land, but you and I are part of the royal family.
We’re the bride of Christ. So when Jesus said, I give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven not now, but in the kingdom of God. Matthew 18, whosoever or whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. And listen to this passage in 1 Corinthians 6 and the first three verses. Paul writing to the church says, dare any of you having a matter against another go to law before the unjust and not before the saints. You and I know we’re not just supposed to take our brother to law courts that way. And here’s our reason.
Here’s the reason why. Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? Now it’s not that the saints are judging the world or ought to be judging the world, but the saints shall judge the world. And if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? I mean, God sees us as kings and priests in the future kingdom of God and we can’t settle our matters between us. Know you not that we shall judge angels. How much more things that pertain to this life? That’s our motivation for dealing with one another the way we ought to deal with one another.
We’ll judge angels someday. We’ll judge the world someday.
Now, I want you to do this for me and first go to Mark chapter 10 and then I’m going to ask you to go to Luke 19. But first of all in Mark chapter 10, Matthew, then Mark.
And you find in Mark chapter 10 a great passage about servanthood. We are waiting on God continually. We are kings, we are priests, and if I would say something thirdly, we are servants waiting continually on God. We are kings and priests unto Him. And so when James and John come in verse 35 and want to know if they can sit on his throne, beginning in verse 35, going through verse 37, he says, he doesn’t say you’ll never do that.
What he says is you don’t understand some things. He says in verse 38 and 39, are you able to die the way I’m going to die for God’s sake? And they had to say yes, we will be able to have that baptism, that baptism of blood if you will.
But verse 40 says, but to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them to whom it is prepared. And when the 10 heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. And Jesus called them unto him and said, here we are today, folks, you know that they which are counted to rule over the Gentiles exercise Lordship over them and their great ones exercise authority upon them, but so shall it not be among you, not in this age, but whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister. Whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many, of course, in his first coming. He’ll come again to rule. But in his first coming, that’s what he’s come to do.
And that’s what we must do now. We are servants in this age, though kings and priests, we are servants to this world and servants to one another and servants because of the gospel’s sake. Now go to Luke chapter 19. When Jesus went through Jericho and Luke 19 on his way to Jerusalem for the last time where he would be crucified. He gives a parable two times. It’s the parable of the talents and the parable of the pounds. We know he gave it two times because here in Jericho, beginning in verse 12 to the end, or for quite a few verses, it’s about pounds and a man who goes away and comes back and takes account of his stewards. But then on Tuesday of the next week, he, on the Mount of Olives, he gives the same parable but uses the word talents instead of pounds.
But notice in verse 12, I’m in Luke 19. He said, therefore, a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. And he called his 10 servants and delivered them 10 pounds and said unto them, occupy till I come.
Let me insert this thought. Jesus came as a servant and then he went back into heaven to receive the kingdom. And when he comes back to this earth, he’ll bring the kingdom with him. And he has said to his servants, and that is us, you occupy until I come. You be good servants. You do those things that I’ve taught you to do. I’ll come back with the kingdom and we’ll all reign together.
Basically, that’s what he’s saying. Now, his citizens hated him, sent a message after him saying, we will not have this man to reign over us because even his own people crucified him. And it came to pass that when he was returned, when he comes back to the earth, having received the kingdom, he commanded these servants to be called unto him to whom he had given the money, that is a pound is a piece of money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained 10 pounds. And he said unto him, well, thou good servant, because thou hast been faithful in a very little, now notice this, have thou authority over 10 cities. We will live and reign with Christ in the kingdom of God over the things that belong to him, which is the whole earth.
And some will reign over 10 cities. And the second came saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said, likewise unto him, be thou also over five cities. And one man had gained nothing because he had no faith and he was cast into outer darkness.
Because when Jesus comes back to this earth, he will separate the wheat and the tares, the sheep and the goats. And so what we are doing now in serving Christ will translate into the authority and the positions that we have in the kingdom of God when we live and reign with him as kings and priests unto him. You say, well, you know, I only have a few years, I’m saved, I’m eternally secure, I’m going to heaven when I die. What do I care about living holy and doing those things for Christ?
I’ll tell you what, because you will be sorry when you stand before Christ and your pound has gained hardly anything. But our work for Christ now in this short life will translate into rewards that will last for a thousand years on this earth. We will be kings and priests unto him. If you want to hear the rest of that explanation, come this Wednesday night because I’m finishing a lesson on the Bema Seat of Christ and rewards and crowns and things like that. We’ll finish that study up Wednesday night. Let me quickly go back to our text in Revelation.
though. If he has loved us and he has washed us, he has made us kings and priests, and now we have an idea of what we’re headed for, what we’re going to be on this earth for a thousand years. This life doesn’t matter much anymore when you realize that. What you have or don’t have now doesn’t matter a whole lot.
How important you are now, who cares? We will be the bride of Christ ruling and reigning with him in places of authority that he has assigned to us for good stewardship. What a great promise that is. And so John, knowing that as well as anyone, says then in verse 6, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. To such a one as that who has given us all these things to him be glory and dominion. To him be glory. He will receive the glory in the kingdom of God and throughout eternity forever and ever. Jesus Christ will receive the glory for all of this. We will bring him glory by our good works.
We will reflect the glory of Christ to this world by gold, silver, and precious stones. And so you remember in Ephesians 1 where he is speaking about the Godhead again and he speaks to God the Father and says to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. He speaks of Christ and he says that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. And he speaks of the Holy Spirit and says in verse 14, which is the earnest of our inheritance unto the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. You and I will praise Jesus Christ for his glory.
And you know why? Because he is the glorious manifestation of God himself. God in bodily form, God in divine form, God in eternity. That glory will be made known and so in Ephesians 3 20 now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that work is in us unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end. You know then the Bible says all of sin and come short of what? The glory of God. The sinner cannot comprehend the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. The sinner has nothing to reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
They have sin come short of this glory. And I’ll read you one more verse, Revelation 21 23 in the New Jerusalem when we are finally in heaven and this is our home forever. It says the city had no need of the sun neither of the moon to shine in it for the glory of God did lighten it and the lamb is the light thereof. The lamb of God Jesus Christ is the glory of God and his glory will lighten heaven throughout eternity.
Under him be glory and not only that but under him be dominion. This word is a fairly unusual word. It’s the word Kratos in that language and we use it sometimes as democratic, theocratic, autocratic that word Kratos means to rule with dominion, to rule with authority and power and he will do that and this word appears all throughout scripture. I read you Jude 24 where he says unto the only wise God our Savior be glory, majesty and dominion and power forever and ever. Or 1 Peter God will be all things glorified through Christ Jesus to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. 1 Peter 5 to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. This Kratos, absolute power, ruling with a rod of iron, absolute control and this world for a thousand years folks will show righteousness not sin. The great thing about the kingdom of God is right now in this age sin rules and righteousness is relegated to the corners but in the kingdom of God righteousness will rule and the holiness of God to the very bells on the horses Zechariah says and sin will be banished. I hope you love that. I hope you’re looking forward to that because that’s exactly what the kingdom of God is going to be to him be glory and dominion because he will bring about such righteousness. You know by the way a little footnote the word Kratos is only used of Satan’s power one time in the Scripture and it’s used of Satan’s power when it says in Hebrews that he has the power over death.
Remember that? Because since Adam and Eve sinned Satan has the power over death and the reason we will die in this flesh is because of the influence Satan has had upon us and the sin that we have because of him and because we agreed with him and we go along with him. He has that power of death but I am glad that the Bible also says in 1 Corinthians 15 that the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. The last dominion to be done away with is the one that Satan has and that is the dominion of death and we will live with him forever and ever.
So Jesus Christ be praised forever and ever folks. Revelation 11-15 talks about the Christians that are being persecuted in the Tribulation period and they have great woes upon them. You and I think we have bad times, we think we have economic hard times. Stick around through the Tribulation.
Well I don’t even want you to do that, but if you do you’ll find hard times. But in the middle of their Tribulation these saints say the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. He shall reign forever and ever and the four and twenty elders which sat upon the throne fell upon their seats and they said we give thanks oh Lord God Almighty which art was and ours to come because thou has taken to thee thy great power and has reigned.
They know that He is going to do that forever and ever. Now let me make tell you this, if you know this is coming and surely if the Bible means anything it means the kingdom of God is coming and if that kingdom of God is coming folks so is the return of Jesus Christ to this earth and if that’s going to happen then that Tribulation period where Satan will deceive the whole earth will proceed that by seven years. And if that’s true then the rapture of the church taught throughout the epistles of the New Testament will also be true.
That in the moment in the twinkling of an eye we could be taken out of this world to receive our rewards before Christ. This world will be left to go into that Tribulation period. I even happen to believe that Paul says it plainly in 2 Thessalonians 2 that if you heard the gospel now and rejected it if the church is gone and you get in that Tribulation period you will not believe the gospel.
Your heart will be hardened because you have you have given up your chance and so if these things are true and if this kingdom of God is coming you know what I say and I think the scripture says make your reservations ahead of time. Today is the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time. It is time now to decide whether you want to be in the kingdom of God or not. Now is the time to decide that you need your sins forgiven and that Jesus Christ needs to save you and become your savior.
You need to become now a king and a priest unto God even though your rulership is coming later but you must make your reservation now. It’s one thing to be on a trip somewhere you know and you could have good weather you could have bad weather. It could be a good trip it could be a terrible trip you could break down all the way but it really doesn’t matter if you have a reservation where you’re going that’s the important thing. Some believers have a fairly easy life in this in this life. Some believers have a terribly hard time in this life. Some are persecuted unto death.
Some have it better. Some live in freedom some live in captivity but all are headed for the kingdom of God where we will live and reign with Christ for a thousand years and we’re simply supposed to occupy till he comes. So Peter says wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling and election sure for if you do these things you shall never fall for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Do you know Christ is your savior today? If you do then you are headed for that kingdom. Live for him serve him put away those sins that easily beset us and weighed us down run with patience this race that is set before us if you don’t know Christ to Savior don’t leave this room this morning without accepting him as your savior because your eternal soul is in danger and he’s given you this opportunity to be saved and I challenge you to do that now stand with me if you will and as we’re standing we’ll prepare to sing a song of invitation but let’s stand and go to the Lord in prayer and let’s ask him to bless this time as we bow our hearts before him let’s pray together now Father in heaven I thank you for the scriptures I thank you Lord for these great promises that we are going to be with you forever and so whatever we face in this life and whatever the challenges are and whatever the disappointments have been to us in this life whatever the struggles either in body or in spirit Father you have brought us peace and grace and we thank you for that from the Father from the Son and from the Holy Spirit and Father if you see us as kings and priests then we surely need help to live for you in this world we need wisdom and we need power of the Holy Spirit we need boldness to speak your word we need conviction about our sins help us Father to be that kind of people to you and then Father if there are those here today who don’t know Christ to Savior and they have heard your pleas from your scripture Father I pray that if your Holy Spirit would draw them that you would bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ this morning so Father in this invitation time work in our hearts the way that we need and we’ll thank you for that we ask these things in Jesus name amen we know the song on page 297 only trust him that’s our invitation