Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy approaches Bible teaching with a passion for getting the basic doctrines explained so that the individual can understand them and then apply them to circumstances in their life. These basic and important lessons are nestled in a framework of history and progression of revelation from the Bible so the whole of Scripture can be applied to your physical and spiritual life.
Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
NT Framework - Glorification, our end state in the future kingdom and beyond
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This present earth and all that it entails is faulty, the result of our sin. The curse was originally placed because of our sin in Adam and his rebellion; now it arises from our shortsightee understanding and faulty attempts to rule. And while we don't know how to rule yet, God is using this time to teach us so that we can rule over the earth with Jesus in perfection.
More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com
This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).
Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner.
Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament framework. Today, the full lesson from Jeremy Thomas. Here's a hint of what's to come.
SPEAKER_01:The glorification of men, again, believers only, right? This is what we're talking about here. In the eternal new heavens and new earth will result in a total separation of believers and unbelievers forever. That's the depiction we looked at last week in Revelation 21 and 22, right? I mean, it just says those who are sorcerers and immoral, they're they're outside. No. And then it describes those who are inside. It's so there's a total and final separation in the end.
SPEAKER_00:The parents not only can be deceiving, they often are. Two people drive up in separate cars. They get out of the cars and walk into the bank. One's driving a new SUV, shiny and clean, wearing nice clothes, hair done well. The other's driving an old pickup. Been used on the farm, it looks like. Wearing jeans and a simple t-shirt, baseball hat. What you don't know is what's the wealth of each of these people? Is the first person in debt up to their eyeballs, living on the edge of existence? Is the person with the old pickup? Are they very wealthy? Do they have money set aside in their savings account more than enough to live on for the rest of their life because they've been frugal? What does it say about their relationships? Do they have a good relationship with their spouse, with their kids, with their parents? How do they treat co-workers? You see, the appearance of prosperity and wealth and being put well put together might be a total sham. Jesus, though, thankfully, looks at us not on our outward appearances, not on the physical prosperity we have, but upon the heart. And it is this that is so important to him and that we should be focusing on. Whether you have little or a lot in this world, always consider are you following God? Are you obeying his commandments? Are you living by faith? Today we look at these things in depth to see how they impact our time in the eternal kingdom and in the kingdom to come before that, the millennial kingdom.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, this morning we're going to finish the doctrine of the glorification of man and nature. Well, I think we are. It took us a couple of weeks to work through the doctrine of the glorification of God. All this is coming out of the resurrection of Christ. In other words, what is the meaning of Christ's resurrection in space and time in the first century for the rest of the history of the world? And we said essentially that because the Lord Jesus Christ is the first piece of the new heavens and new earth in his resurrection body, then he's already crossed the finish line, so to speak. And that means that there's a certainty that those who believed in him will also cross that finish line and get resurrection bodies. And it also means something for nature, that nature itself will be restored and renovated to a condition which will be fit for a resurrected humanity to dwell and rule in. So that's why we're taking the doctrines of God and his glory, man and his glorification, and the glorification of nature. So those three doctrines are really what we look at when we think about the resurrection of Christ. So we've already gone over, I guess, the glorification of God, right? This I put down in about four different points, which I want to just quickly review so we can see. Okay, here we go. So we can see these again. And you know, we only see these once every once in a while, so we need to stay up to speed on them. The glorification of God in four points. The glorification of God, first of all, is the chief purpose of history. In other words, what is God up to in history? Many people say, well, it's all about the salvation of man, or at least in their practice of discussing scripture, they discuss the salvation of man more than any other topic. But really, the greatest topic of the scripture is God's plan for the whole purpose of history, which is his own glory. And this glory is manifested in three ways. First of all, the glorification of God is progressive in time. In other words, the more that more events that happen in history, such as creation, the fall, the flood, right, the Noahic covenant, the call of Abraham, at each of these events, what God is doing is He is revealing Himself in one or more of His aspects so that He can be appreciated and worshiped. We live toward the latter end of history, right? So there's a lot that has come before us. We can look back at all the scripture and even look ahead in Scripture to the book of Revelation to see what is to come. And yet those are things that have not transpired yet. So we don't have a full appreciation, really, of things that are described, for example, in the book of Revelation. Even though we know they'll happen, we don't have a full appreciation of them yet because they haven't happened. So as events happen in history, his nature is revealed. We learn more about his justice, we learn more about his grace, we learn more about his benevolence, his love, his omnipresence, and his omnipotence. We learn about these through history. So his glorification is progressive in time. But then his glorification is also extensive in space, meaning that no matter where we are, the glory of God is manifested to us. And then lastly, of course, the glorification of God will continue into eternity. Even when we get in our resurrection bodies and we are with God, let's just say in the eternal state, we will not know everything there is to know about God. Because God is an infinite being. And the only way to encapture infinity is for you also to be infinite. And because we will never be infinite, we will never know God entirely. We will always be learning something new about God. So there's a continual revelation of the glory of God forever and ever and ever and ever. Now, um, we want to turn now to the second doctrine, the doctrine of the glorification of man. And to do this, we want to talk about a special question, and this is the special question about the millennial kingdom. Because the millennium, and then you also have the new heaven and new earth, and some people collapse these together, or some people just view the kingdom of God now in the church. And there are, I guess, some pretty big questions about how this uh history should be viewed, which is mostly future history, but some people collapse it and see the kingdom of God now. So there are questions about the kingdom of God in history, or is the kingdom of God in eternity? And this is really the millennial issue. So you're familiar perhaps with terms like a millennialism, post-millennialism, premillennialism. So this is the millennial debate. But this is a question that relates to the doctrine of resurrection because there gets to be this big question about well, is there a period in history where immortals will reign or live alongside immortals, mortals and immortals together? Which people say, well, that's a weird concept. How could you have more type mortals living with immortals? Um that's why we want to address this a little bit because it relates to resurrection and the glorified uh body. So is the kingdom? We've already viewed the millennial issue. We dealt with this after we finished the Old Testament framework. And we said, in between the Old Testament and the New Testament, there's about how many years? How many years between the Old and New Testament? About 400 years. This is sometimes known as the 400 years of silence because God didn't say anything during this period. He was just silent, which meant they're supposed to be thinking about what was said in the Old Testament and preparing for what may come next. Also known as the intertestamental times. So between Malachi or you know, the Italian prophet Malachi, whatever you want to call him, um and Matthew, you have about 400 years. And in this period of time, the Jews discussed this issue of the kingdom and whether the kingdom that the Old Testament prophets predicted, whether it would be in time, that is in history, or whether it would be in eternity. And actually, before John ever wrote the book of Revelation, you know, the one book that says a thousand years, there will be this thousand years, right? In Revelation 20. Before he ever wrote that, the Jews had already described and decided that there would be a thousand-year kingdom on earth. Um, I read you quotes back then from their own writings that come from the time before Christ ever even came, or John wrote the book of Revelation. So they had already discussed this question, and now we want to add a later question. That is, well, does the kingdom consist of mortals or immortals or both? Or does it occur in history and eternity? We can discuss that some more. So there are three basic views that have been uh developed in church history. The a millennial view, which really kind of began in the fourth century with people like a little bit earlier, someone like Origen, uh, who you may have heard of him, or you've probably all heard of Augustine. So um they really developed a millennialism. This is the idea that basically the kingdom of God is now. There's no more kingdom than there is now. It obviously in this diagram began after the cross, right? And um it's a spiritual kingdom. So you say, well, what about the thousand years? Well, it's just a spiritual thousand years. It's not a literal thousand years, it's just a long period of time. And the kingdom of God is now in the sense that Christ is ruling through saints in their hearts. Um this is the idea that there's not going to be a future thousand-year kingdom on earth. Okay, they don't believe that at all. That's why it's all millennial, no millennium. No thousand years on earth is what they mean by that. But then how do they deal with the kingdom? Well, it's just now. It's Christ sitting on the throne of David in your heart. Okay, so the throne is really in you, in their thinking. And so this is their idea of the kingdom of God. And then after the kingdom of God, um, there will be a general judgment and resurrection and a separation, the split, right? Where you have then the eternal new heavens and new earth, and for those who are believers and those who are not go to the lake of fire. Um, the only other thing about this diagram to note is you see that kind of down arrow, dashed arrow. That signifies that omillenalism is pessimistic about history. In other words, they don't think this current age with the church, which is the kingdom, is going to end on a good note. They think it will go toward apostasy, that the church, which they think is the kingdom, will decline and turn against Christ. So that's their thinking. And suddenly Christ will return, there'll be a judgment and general resurrection and the separation of believers and unbelievers. So that's their idea. Now, the postmillennialism is very similar. It's going to look just like this, exactly like this, except one thing. That little arrow is going to be going up. Okay. See, that's it. It changed. Okay? That one part changed. So again, the kingdom of God is spiritual. They don't believe in it literal thousand years on earth, you know. The kingdom is now, again, it's a spiritual type of kingdom. But the difference with our millennialism is they're optimistic about history. They believe that the gospel will ultimately conquer the world and the world's institutions or governments. And Christians will go to be in all the governments of all the nations on earth and will Christianize the world. So this is post-millennialism. It's very optimistic about the future. Some of you may be thinking, hmm, I don't know about that. It doesn't look like the world is going that way. But um, and postmillennialism has had its setbacks because of events in the 20th century, like World War I and World War II. You know, it hasn't exactly seemed to uh be going in a positive direction. Uh, but nevertheless, this is their this is their idea. Okay, so they're a very uh conquering type of Christianity. They want to go out and conquer the world for Christ. And there's nothing really wrong with that mentality. We want to conquer the world for Christ. I don't know if we want to use war language like conquer, but um, nevertheless, we do want people to believe the gospel. And um, but we don't think that I don't think that this is ultimately gonna happen. Their idea is that we'll build the kingdom, right? It's going to get positive, positive, and once we've built it, guess what? We'll hand it over to Jesus when he comes back. So all kingdom-building movements, most kingdom-building movements are post-millennial in nature. Okay, and there's a lot of these movements, so you you have to watch for them. Uh the last view is premillennialism. You'll see it does something different. It separates the church from the kingdom of God. You see that? Whereas in these views, the kingdom of God is just the church. I mean, it's the same thing in their thinking. Okay? But now there's a separation between the church and the kingdom of God. The church comes first, and then the kingdom of God comes after. And that's when Christ returns and sets up his kingdom literally on earth for a thousand years. And then there's a general judgment, right, after the thousand years, and that's when you have the separation into the new heavens and new earth or the lake of fire. So this view is a little bit different because it sees a period in history, a unique period called the kingdom of God on earth, where you actually have immortals and mortals living together at the same time. And then, of course, in the eternal state later, it's just immortal. But in all these other views, you know, right now, during the kingdom of God, they would say, well, it's just mortals, there's no immortals, you know. That's only for the separation time. So this view is kind of distinct, right? Because it's got this unique period where you've got mortals and immortals living together. So that's just a little background, and we already kind of resolved this issue, at least for our view here, is that we're basically premillennial. We think that this kingdom that's a thousand years, it's described in Revelation 20, verse 1 through 6. Seven times it says a thousand years, a thousand years, and Satan will be bound, right, during this period, and the earth will be renovated, and it'll be greatly improved environment, things like that, with mortals living alongside immortals. Um, so you know, there are problems for these other views. You know, it says a thousand years, Satan will be locked away, and you so you come back here and you say, Well, uh how in all millennialism, if this is all the thousand years there will be, just some spiritual thousand years, how is it that that Satan is locked away? I mean, it seems like he's pretty active. They'll say, Well, he's on a long leash, you know, and things like that, you know, uh, to try to convince us that you know he's really bound, but just not in the sense that we're we're saying. So you've got to come up with some clever explanations. Um and and frankly, don't they don't they don't ring with me. They don't seem to fit the scriptures. Um you would you would also go to passages like, well, what about those passages that say the lamb is gonna lie with the wolf and the child will play by the viper's den? And then say, Oh, well, that's just spiritual. It's just a spiritual concept. That's not gonna really happen. I mean, get over it. That's literalism, you know, and stuff like that. Um, that could never happen. So that's the way they kind of chide those things and just reinterpret them to be spiritual ideas. Um, we want to go into this, so let's do this as we talk about the doctrine of the glorification of man and then nature. The glorification of some men. By that I mean believers, right? And when I say this, I mean I mean believers from pre-Israel. So that's Genesis 1 through 11, right? An interesting group of people, especially the group before the flood. You know, Noah and those people. Um so you've got those individuals, then you've got the believers from Israel. There was always a remnant of Israel, a remnant and a non-remnant, a believing, the believing remnant, the non-believing non-remnant. And then you've got, of course, the church. We know what that is, hopefully, the body of Christ starting on the day of Pentecost. And then the future tribulation, believers from that period. So the glorification of men from all those periods who believe will occur in the future earthly kingdom. That's premillennialism, right? And during that time, they will reign over mortals for 1,000 years. So you have this interesting period in history where uh immortals uh from all these periods of history will be ruling over immortals. Okay. Now, is this gonna happen? Well, I think it will. And I think, first of all, this is necessary because God created man to rule. In other words, it's in the design features that he made us with. He made us in his own image. There's no other creatures made in his image. Angels aren't made in his image, sharks aren't made in his image. Lots of creatures, but only one creature in the entire creation account was made in God's image. And that's for a purpose. God is essentially a sovereign, he's essentially a ruler, and he made man in his own image to rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and so forth. Over this one domain, the earth. He did not tell us to reign over Mars, He did not tell us to reign over some galaxy elsewhere, but over this one particular domain, which he created man in his image to reign over this particular created order, this aspect of the cosmos. So it's necessary that man be glorified because God made us to rule over the earth, but something happened which rendered us incapable of ruling over this earth to his glory, and that is the fall, right? That's the story in Genesis 3. So the fact that we are created to rule is Genesis 1, 26 to 28, right? I mean, this isn't a mystery. Um he made us in his image for this purpose, and most Christians probably are familiar with this. And uh so we know let us, then God said, Let us make man in our image according to our likeness, and let them rule. Okay, that's a ruling function, a kingly function, right? This is why God made us. Okay, but of course, we fall in chapter 3, and this renders us incapable of ruling. And in fact, Jesus said in Luke 4 that uh, well, Satan said in Luke 4 that this whole domain, the earth, had been handed over to him, and he was the ruler over the kingdoms of the world, and he could give that rule to anyone he wished. Remember that in the temptation? Jesus he said, if you'll bow down and worship. But of course, he wouldn't do that. Jesus wouldn't do that. But we have this, and that should be Psalm 8, by the way, not Psalm 2, excuse me. So this purpose of God remains unmet. It remains unfulfilled. And that's why we think there's going to be a history that looks like this, where you've got a kingdom of God on earth, because if you don't, then history is unfinished. God's purpose for man is never met. He wants man to rule on this earth. And the only view that has an earthly kingdom that would be like the one in Genesis 1 and 2, or similar to it, is the view of premillennialism. Because these others, the kingdom of God is just spiritualized. It's just in your heart or something like that. And that's clearly not what Genesis 1 and 2 are talking about. It's not talking about a kingdom in your heart. It's talking about ruling over, you know, the fish. You know, like fish? Fish. Not your heart. Like the birds, like, yeah, birds. You know, like those things that fly in the air. I mean, this isn't that complicated. But for some reason, these things get forgotten. So God created us for these purposes, and he wants to fulfill those. Because of our fall, be here, the seed promise, the offspring of the woman, the seed of the woman, right? And Genesis 3.15 was sent to ultimately glorify those who believe and restore them to a condition in which they can rule the kingdom on earth. And that condition, of course, would be glorified bodies. I mean, how do we get out of these fallen, sinful bodies into bodies that are fit to rule for God's glory? I mean, everybody is corrupt to some extent. I mean, maybe believers, maybe you are not as incorrupt, not as corrupt as certain unbelievers who are in, let's just say, our judicial system or things like that, serve in governing capacities. But I mean, you're still corrupt. You're still subject to sin. You're still subject to a bribe, you know, and things like that. Or to be manipulated and influenced by sinful means. But in the resurrection seat, you won't be subject to that. And so you would be perfectly fit to rule. Which was God's original intent with Adam and Eve, right? He created them very good, he set them in the garden, he wanted to rule over the work of his hands. And well, okay, we know how that went. So now the seed has been sent, and this is a major theme of the Bible, right? That the seed of the woman would ultimately be the seed of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David. And that's why the New Testament begins with the words of this is these are the generations of the son of Abraham, the son of David. It's tracing that kingly line of the seed who would come, who would basically restore man to a condition in which he could rule and fulfill the original purpose for which he made us. There's a lot of verses there, right? That uh that I've put down. I only want to look, let's see, uh Genesis 17, 6, 7, and 8. There's a whole bunch here.
SPEAKER_02:I could be here for a while, but Genesis 17. This is part of the story of Abraham.
SPEAKER_01:Notice he repeats the covenant promises here to Abraham in verses 3 and 4 as he renames him. And then he says in verse 6, I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. Notice kingship. God is very interested in us becoming ultimately being kings. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants, or seed after you, throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and to your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land. The land. Is God concerned about the land, the promised land that he outlined the boundaries in Genesis 15, two chapters before? Yeah, he is concerned about the land. The land is actually the sphere of the kingdom in which the king will exercise rule. I mean, you could be a king, but if you don't have a land, who are you going to rule over? If you don't have a people, who are you going to rule over? Big deal. You're a king. Great. Where's your kingdom? And where are your subjects? So you have to have those, you have to have three things. You have to have a king, you have to have a sphere of rule, a land, and you have to have subjects. Otherwise, you don't really have a kingdom. They all kind of go together. And that's what's being promised here to Abraham. So I'll give to you and to your descendants after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan for an how long? Everlasting possession. The Hebrew Olam, which can be limited in extent. I won't lie to you. It can be limited in extent. But context is what determines the extent. And here it seems that Olam is everlasting in the most extensive sense possible. He says, and I will be their God. I mean, that's the purpose of God. He wants to, and this is through Israel, and this is the way he's setting up and establishing a future kingdom and restoration of man to a proper state where he can rule in that kingdom. Lots of verses here. Revelation 1 6 talks of us being a kingdom and priests. And Revelation 5, 9 and 10 says, And we will reign upon the earth. Oh, let's just look at that one. Revelation 5 9 and 10. We're in the first book. Let's go to the last book.
SPEAKER_02:Revelation 5, 9, 10.
SPEAKER_01:This is one of the new songs. You sing a new song when there's some new revelation about God. We've been learning about God as he reveals himself. This is something that hasn't happened yet, so we can't fully appreciate what is in Revelation 5, 9, and 10. But we will. We will in the future. He says, Worthy are you to take the book and to break its seals, the seven seal scroll. For you were slain and you purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom. See, this is talking about the future kingdom on earth. How do I know that? Well, because it's about to say it. And priests are God, and they what? Will reign. Are they doing it now or is will a future tense? It's a future tense. They will reign upon the earth. So after the destruction in Revelation 6 through 19, right? Destruction on earth, and Christ comes in chapter 19, then he sets up his kingdom in chapter 20, thousand years. Where do you think they'll reign? Well, right there. Let's just look at it while we're here. Revelation 20, verse 6.
SPEAKER_02:Revelation 20, verse 6. Here's the reigning.
SPEAKER_01:Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. Well, I think that just means Jesus is going to reign in our hearts. Well, I don't know, maybe probably not. Not if words have meaning, right? Not if words have meaning. Not if we look at things in light of Genesis, where God created man to rule over the work of his hands. And we failed in that capacity. And the seed came, the Messiah, to restore us to that capacity. And so the whole idea of a thousand-year earthly kingdom is the idea that God wants to fulfill that original purpose with us. And so he's got to have a resurrected humanity. Blessed is he who takes part in the first resurrection. See, we've got to be in resurrection bodies so we can be fit to rule with him. Because he's a perfect king. And guess what? We will rule perfectly under him. We will not do any harm or any wrong. So that's the necessity of this kingdom. Now, third point. Ruling status will differ between believers of various eras. Not all of us will be, let's just say it this way, in the kingdom, obviously Christ will be in the highest position. He is the king of kings, right? But notice there are other kings. King of kings, you know, others. But he's the top, right? Who is the prince in the kingdom? Who does the Old Testament teach will be the prince in the Messianic kingdom, the thousand-year kingdom? David. So who is the second highest authority in the future kingdom? David. It's not me, it's not you. Now, um this shows you already there's rank. And that's all I'm making in this point. There's a status or rank in the kingdom, and this is based on rewards. The New Testament refers to them very interestingly with the term crowns. Now, when we all think of a crown, what do we think of? Kings, ruling, you know, and queens. Right? So let's look at a little bit of this because what we're trying to do in the Christian life now is we're trying to train to reign. We're training for reigning. That's what we're doing. You say, what is my life about? What am I doing here? Why am I here? What is the purpose of this day? Why am I going through this in my life? There may be a variety of answers along the way, but one of them that is always in the mix is part of it is our training. So we'll be prepared for reigning with him. Just like in the military, right? Why do you go to boot camp? Train so you can serve, right? Train for serving, right? If you're not trained, I mean you're not very good in the you can't serve very well in the field. You have to become a unit with your guys, you know. You have to, you know, become one and know what your function is and how to do your job and all that, and then you can function together as a unit. And that's the whole point. Train for serve. But here in our life, it's training for reigning. Um, 1 Corinthians 9, 25. Look at a couple of these because it refers to these rewards as crowns. Paul likens it into an athletic event. You know, your Christian life is like an athletic event. Verse 24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things, then they do it, or they then do it to receive a perishable crown or wreath, but we an imperishable. See, this is talking about rewards, the reward of an imperishable crown for running the Christian life in such a way that we are not disqualified. Well, how do we run and not be disqualified? In other words, how do we uh run the Christian life, the Christian race, in a way that qualifies us for reward? Well, just like Paul says, we are to walk by the spirit and not by the flesh. I mean, repeatedly, over and over, this is the way to live. You say, yeah, but what does that mean? To walk by the spirit. Well, it's walk independence, see? I mean, you can walk on your own, right? Or you can walk independence on the spirit. I liken it to, I've always likened it to the walker, a walker. You get older, and you know, I remember my grandfather had a walker. It had a couple tennis balls on the back, you know, stuck on the feet on the back so they slide real easily. And before that, he had a cane. Um, when he was on the cane, I don't know how many times Walmart called him telling him they had his cane, uh, because he wasn't walking in dependence on his cane. He just stuck it in the basket, right? And then he left and went out to his car and he was dependent on himself, right? And he's very liable to fall. He had three hip surgeries, three hip replacements. He used to say, Yeah, this is my 87 model, this is my 96 model, and then he got the 87 replaced like with a 2000 model. Um, but he he he would not depend on that cane. And same thing when the walker came along, you know, he didn't want to depend on it. He's like, put that thing over there, just do it himself. Now, we can either do it ourselves in the Christian life, right? Or we can depend upon the Holy Spirit. And that's the picture of the of the dependence on your walker, right? You're doing that because that's the right way to live. That's the right way to do it. And if we do that, then we are going to be qualified for this imperishable crown that Paul describes in Romans. I'm sorry, 1 Corinthians chapter 9. But there's others that are described here. James 1 12 describes another crown. Um there's five, five different crowns. Two of these are the same crowns, so they're described in two different passages. But James chapter 1, verse 12. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial. For once he's been approved, he will receive the crown of life. There it is, crown, which the Lord has promised to those who love him. So, how are you going to persevere through your trials? The only way to persevere through your trials is to love the Lord. Okay, that's what helps you persevere. If you're only looking at the trial and you're not looking at the Lord, you can never make it through the trial without failing through the trial. And so the way to persevere through a trial is to love the Lord. And for those who do and therefore persevere through, guess what? At the end of that, there is a crown. This is a reward that we will be given that will relate to our future status of ruling in the messianic kingdom to come. So all believers will be in this kingdom and I think rule to some extent, but the extent to which you rule, or, you know, what authority you're given to rule varies among believers. And this is all described in Luke 19, too. So there's also a whole parable about this. Um, you know, the one who's faithful with little, he'll be given much. I mean, you guys know this, right? This isn't that complicated. These are big biblical themes that if you're associated, you know, commonly in the Bible you you're familiar with these ideas. But it does point out the idea that there's a kingship that's awaiting us, see? God is at work to do this, and that will all take place in the thousand-year kingdom. And perhaps forever. We don't we'll have to think about that question further. Lastly, the result then will be in the kingdom, the thousand-year kingdom, a race of immortals or glorified people living right alongside and ruling over mortal people inside a history, a thousand-year earthly kingdom history. And this is described in some of the passages we mentioned here. So, but it leads to this interesting question: is it possible? Do we have any precedence for saying that immortals will live alongside mortals? Well, it's already happened twice. It's already happened. In fact, the first time it happened was in Genesis 3 through 6, in that pre-flood world where you had angels who are, I think we can all say, immortal, right? We have them living right alongside mortal men for about 2,000 years of war of history, which is a little bit about uh almost a third of human history. You remember they were stationed at the garden entrance, you know, cherry bean with a flaming sword? I mean, those were angels. I mean, and I I suppose there were more. But I mean, if you could just go up to that gate any time before the flood, guess who would be there? Angels. I mean, and they're immortal. So here you have a situation with mortals living alongside immortals. It's already happened. So is it such a strange idea to say it'll happen again? No, it's already happened. Another case where it happened, second case, is the glorified resurrected Christ. After he got his resurrection body, didn't he walk around and live among people for 40 days inside of history? Right there with mortals? And some of them said, Oh, well, I think we're just seeing a ghost. And so he says, Well, give me some of that fish over there and you know, here, and take a drink of this and do this and that. He showed that, hey, in the resurrection body you can eat and drink. So here we have another 40 days with a resurrected immortal being living right alongside mortals. So, can this happen in the thousand-year kingdom where we're immortal and other people on earth are mortal? Well, I mean, it's already happened, so it shouldn't be that strange of an idea, right? That's the glorification of men. Now, um, the glorification of men, again, believers only, right? This is what we're talking about here. In the eternal new heavens and new earth will result in a total separation of believers and unbelievers forever. That's the depiction we looked at last week in Revelation 21 and 22, right? I mean, it just says those who are sorcerers and immoral, they're they're outside.
unknown:No.
SPEAKER_01:And then it describes those who are inside. It's so there's a total and final separation in the end, and that is what is depicted on a chart like this, where at the end, after the judgment, if you've got the new heaven and new earth separated from those who are in the lake of fire. So that's what that picture is. Now, um, it will remain this way forever. And the idea then that since Christ is already resurrected and he's the first piece of that new heavens and new earth, then it's imperative to get right with God now. That's Acts 17, 31. Paul's saying, we God is now declaring that all men everywhere should repent. That is, have a change of mind about the Lord Jesus Christ, because it says he has appointed a man who will judge. And so it's imperative to get right with God now. Let's go to Luke 16 because it's it's imperative right now to get right with God, right now, because after you die, there's no crossing over. Matthew, Mark, Luke. Luke 16. This is an interesting little parable. Well, people say, is this a parable? Is this not a parable? I don't think it's that big a deal whether it is or isn't, but I do like to point out that the main idea of this section is is really clarified by verse 14. So before Jesus ever gets to the rich man and Lazarus, he's there's a statement in verse 14 that cues us to understand why Jesus gave this this illustration. Verse 14, now the Pharisees who were what? Lovers of money. That is the key to understanding this illustration or parable that comes later. Um because as we're going to see, there's someone in this in this illustration who's rich. And in the par in the Pharisees' point of view, if you were rich, that meant you were the blessed of God. And that's why they went around with all their fancy robes and garb and everything. I mean, they were saying, look at us. God loves us, we're the best. God's you know, it's all this kind of stuff. And so he's really addressing that issue here. So let's look at it. Verse 19 now there was a rich man. And the Pharisees are like, ah, someone like us. I mean, that's what they're thinking when he says that. Ah, this guy, a Pharisee. And he habitually dressed in purple, there it is, which is royal clothing, right? Purple. Fine linen, expensive clothing, joyously living in splendor every day, because he's the blessed of God. He's this is a Pharisee. That's what they think. And then he says, and there's a poor man named Lazarus. He was laid at his gate, covered with sores. And you can see the phrase, oh goodness, someone who's under the curse of God. Poor guy. Longing to be fed with the crumbs which were following from the rich falling from the rich man's table. Besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores, and oh, this person who's under the curse of God. That's what they're thinking. And then Jesus says, Now, the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom. And the rich man also died and he was buried. And verse 23, he was in Hades, from where he lifted up his eyes, being in torment. And they're thinking, What? The rich man in torment?
unknown:What?
SPEAKER_01:I thought this is the guy who was blessed of God. And it says of this rich man that he saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and he said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool up my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame. But Abraham said, Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus' bad things, but now he's being comforted here, and you are in agony. And then the clincher, the keyver. And besides all this, Jesus said, between us and you, there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us. There's a great goal fixed, right? Like there's no crossing over. Once you die, I mean, that's it. You are there, and you can't get to the other side. So, meaning it's very imperative to get right with God now, right? That's the application. Verse 27, and he said, The rich men said, Well, then I beg you, Father, that you send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment. But Abraham said, They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. I mean, you think of all people the Pharisees listened to Moses and the prophets, right? No, they didn't listen to Moses and the prophets. That's basically what the gospels keep saying over and over, is that Jesus keeps correcting them and saying, if you believe Moses and the prophet, you'd believe in me. But they didn't. Which meant they didn't believe Moses and the prophets. And so he keeps saying, go back and read Moses and the prophets. Nope, read it again. Your tradition has gotten in the way. You're not understanding the Moses and the prophets. You don't believe Moses and the prophets at all. And they didn't. They believed their tradition. So verse 30, but he said, No, that's not enough. Moses and the prophets is not enough. He says, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. In other words, the Bible's not enough. We have to have someone resurrect and go back and tell them what it's like over here in this place of torment. But he said to them, If they don't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't be persuaded, even if someone rises from the dead. See, what is more powerful than resurrection? This. This. What is it that raised Jesus Christ from the dead? The word of God? God himself, his voice, brought him out of that tomb. This is more powerful than the resurrection. So, if they're not going to believe Moses and the prophet, if they're not going to believe the scriptures, they won't even be persuaded if someone rises from the dead. Even today we hear the same thing in the streets. Oh, you can't use the Bible. You have to use some other evidence from somewhere else. Well, if you don't believe the Bible, you're not going to believe whatever evidence I put in front of you. That is absolute truth because it's not that the evidence that's absolutely powerful, it's the word of God that's powerful. We were all convinced because someone was telling us some truth from the Bible. And we became convinced of the truth of the scriptures. Was it because somebody came back from the dead and showed up on our doorstep and said, Hey, I'm Jesus, I rose 2,000 years ago. Nobody came to salvation that way. And if somebody came to your doorstep and said that, you'd laugh the door and shut it in their face. But somehow the scriptures are powerful. What does Psalm 132 say? I will expose my word even above my name. It's because the word of God is living and active. It's powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. It's why we preach the gospel. Because what? Because it's our power? No, it's because the power is hidden in the gospel that God places there, his own strength. And so we keep doing that. But the important thing to see here at this point is that look, there's this great cash fix. You have to make a decision now, or else it will be too late. And after that, you cannot cross over. Now, um, so man will be glorified and ultimately to reign in a kingdom over mortals. And then we got to also talk about a little bit about nature. Talk about nature in the millennial kingdom period, that thousand-year kingdom period, and then what we also call the new heaven and new earth. So, what will happen to nature in the thousand-year kingdom? Well, the glorification of nature will result in a greatly improved environment. You know, we have we people talk a lot about the environment. We're so concerned about the environment. We can't have coal. I mean, my goodness, that just keeps charging all of our electric car places where you charge the electrical car. You've got to have coal to get that. You know that, right? I mean, how in the world are you gonna charge your car without coal? You're not! Batteries don't make energy, they store it. Anyway, how does the energy get there? Well, we get coal out of the ground. Okay, well, at least 90 something percent of our energy. Well, we can put some windmill farms up. Yeah, put it on your own property, buddy. Um, and I hope the wind blows. Oh, we'll do solar. Well, I hope the the sun that you get enough sun where you live. I hope it's not a dark, you know, place like Seattle side. Anyway, so you can get a little bit that way, but you can't do anything like support the United States of America. I mean, unless you want to return to it, like be a third world country. I'll ride horses or something. How many want to go do that? Brush up on your Clint Eastwood and John Wayne movies and uh get you some chaps and some spurs and some boots and go for it. So a glorified nature in the millennial kingdom. Not perfect, but let's look at Ezekiel 36.
SPEAKER_02:Ezekiel 36.
SPEAKER_01:Right after Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, then you've got Ezekiel. Ezekiel 36. Very interesting description, at least that this is of the land of Israel, but uh in the millennial kingdom.
SPEAKER_02:Ezekiel 36, 34. 36 to 34.
SPEAKER_01:Speaking of the land of Israel, he says the desolate land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by. They will say, This desolate land has become like what I mean, you can if you want to get a description of the garden Eden, just go back there and read it, right? It's gonna be like that. He says, in the waste, desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited. So you now you've got all these cities and so forth that will be built there. Then the nations that are left round about, you will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places, and I have planted this garden, just made this land like a garden, a land that was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken, I will do it. So it's going to be remarkable in the millennial kingdom. Look at Isaiah 65. So turn back to the left, past Jeremiah to Isaiah 65. The first passage that ever talks about the new heavens and new earth. But what you're going to see is in Isaiah's day, when this was first revealed, the new heavens and new earth, it was kind of blended with the millennial kingdom period, and it wasn't separated out later, till later. Just like that's progressive revelation. You don't get the whole story immediately. You just get this broad paintbrush, and then later it's detailed out. And so what we see in Isaiah 65, 17, and following is really what is called the new heavens and new earth, but later we find out, oh, it's got a thousand-year period, and then it's got a new heavens and new earth, or eternal state period. So let's look at Isaiah 65, 20 through 25. 20 through 25. No longer will there be an in it an infant who dies, who lives but a few days. I mean, do we have in in our days, you know, you someone has a baby and then just a few days later it dies? I don't know. Maybe you should go down and visit the cemetery. I do every year. I'll often walk the infant cemetery. Remind myself I'm not in the millennium, I'm not in the millennial kingdom. Some people actually believe we're in the millennial kingdom, by the way. Actually, there's some people who believe we're in the new heavens and new earth, but we won't go that way out there belief. No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days. Is that that's a good situation, right? I mean parents won't have little babies that die.
SPEAKER_02:Or an old man who does not live out his days. All old people in this time are gonna live out their days.
SPEAKER_01:They're gonna live it out. They're not gonna die. Then it says, for the youth will die at the age of a hundred. And the one who does not reach the age of a hundred will be thought a curse. So from that verse alone, whatever's being described here, is it a period when there's death? There's still death, but if you die at a hundred, you'll be thought to be a youth. You know, last week we talked about the Nazwar family. They had a 15-year-old grandson who was killed in a car accident. And we all look at that and we say, he died in his youth, right? And it's hard. This is saying in the millennial kingdom, when you get to be a hundred years old, that's when you become a youth. So I guess you're just a kid until then, right? So look, don't you think that this is saying that longevity is increased in the millennial kingdom? Such that we age slower and we don't even reach our driver's license until we're 100 years old.
SPEAKER_02:That's what it's saying.
SPEAKER_01:But the one who doesn't reach it will be thought a curse. And I think these are unbelievers. I think that basically, well, what Arnold Fruitman said was in the millennial kingdom, if a person lives to age 100 and they're an unbeliever, they'll die on their 100th birthday.
SPEAKER_02:The cursed of God.
SPEAKER_01:So there is death during this period that's being described here, but people are living greatly longer lives. It says they will build houses and inhabit them, they will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit, they will not build in another inhabit. That'll be wonderful. There won't be property taxes.
SPEAKER_02:I know we got some people like a round of applause.
SPEAKER_01:They will not build another inhabitant, they will not plant and another eat. For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of my people. We got trees that are over a thousand years old today in the world. And that's what this is saying. People will live that long in that period. It says, and my chosen ones will chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands. I mean great labor for a thousand years. They will not labor in vain. You know how many times have you labored in vain this week? Let's just limit it to this week. We don't need your life story. Or bear children for calamity. Sounds wonderful. For they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord, their descendants with them. It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer. I mean, before you even make a prayer request, the answer will be on the doorstep.
SPEAKER_02:That's like before you order something, it already showed up. Can you imagine? Wow, that was quick.
SPEAKER_01:Talk about service. And while they are still speaking, I will hear. Verse 25 the wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. What will happen to diet? Well, they're lions are meat eaters, they don't eat straw.
SPEAKER_02:What did they originally eat when God created animals in Genesis? They ate vegetation, fruit.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, people, I've seen people, we've gone to lots of done lots of fossil stuff and looked at things and looked at the hyena's jaw and oh the powerful force of the hyena jaw. You know, we study all this because why? Because we're interested, because we're creationists, we believe there's a God who designed these creatures. Well, what would that thing do? You know, what would it be eating?
SPEAKER_02:You know, that's made to crush bones. No. No.
SPEAKER_01:In fact, we've got we've we've got monkeys and stuff that have razor sharp, crazy sharp teeth. And guess what they use them for? Not eating animals, breaking open hard nuts and things like that to get out what's inside. Anybody ever tried to break a walnut with your teeth? Good luck. You're gonna break your teeth. The walnut would be just fine. These creatures, and I believe they're modified from their original versions due to the effects of the fall, but they originally had a good function. And none of them were created to eat meat. Lions were not created to eat meat. Okay. They were created to eat vegetables. In fact, we were too. And something after the flood necessitated that we now eat meat as a part of our diet due to protein that's in the meat and so forth, and perhaps other physiological reasons that we're unaware of, not privy of. But um, in the we'll turn back and revert to a lot of the way that things were before the flood. That's what it looks like, at least. It says, the dust will be the serpent's food, they will do no evil or harm in all my holy mountains, says the Lord. So this is a greatly changed time, isn't it? Nature will be greatly improved. It won't be perfect, people will still die at the age of 100, they'll be just a youth, but still it will be greatly improved. Ezekiel, uh, I'm sorry, uh Romans 8, and then we'll stop there.
SPEAKER_02:Romans 8. When man sinned in the garden, God cursed nature.
SPEAKER_01:Remember that? He cursed nature. He cursed the serpent first, and he said, On your belly you will go. But then it also says, and he cursed the cattle of the field and so forth. It says that right in Genesis 3. So God put a curse on nature when man fell. So all of nature is under the curse of God at this present time. In Romans 8, we taught we see a passage where it will be set free from this curse, at least partially. Romans 8, 19. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. Creation, you see, creation is anxiously longing and eagerly looking for something. It's the revealing of the sons of God, which comes at our resurrection, at the resurrection in conjunction with the kingdom. And creation's waiting for this. Why is it waiting? Verse 28, because the creation was subjected to futility. And that's way back in Genesis, right? That's when God subjected it to futility. Not willingly. Creation didn't want to be subjected to futility, it says, but because of him who subjected it. God did, God cursed it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. He's talking about that lifting of the curse that nature is currently under. Verse 22, for we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. I mean, I look at, I was a biologist, so I look at a lot of creatures. I am super interested. I wanted to be a micro marine biologist at one point. I love creatures under the sea. And, you know, when I look at the creatures, I see hurt, I see pain, I see suffering, just like when I look at humans. And I see hurt and pain and suffering. But there's this hope, see, that's built into the text and built into God's plan that it will be set free from this, see. But right now it's suffering. Verse 23, and not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, that is the redemption of our body. You know, how many of you have pains and hurts and aches? Need I even ask? What are you looking forward to? The resurrection. Okay, which, as John Pilke noted, and I said weeks ago, is far beyond anything that you've ever imagined. Anybody, any person in this world who has ever been or ever will be in this current mortal world will not compare to anybody in this room. You will all be superior to them in every possible way, in every possible statistic. You will be far superior, and nothing in this creation could ever even get close to you. No Michael Jordan's, no Box, no Da Vinci's. You are all will be infinitely better than all of them in everything. And that is what is so tempting. It makes us yearn for this and want this. And you know why we're supposed to yearn for it and want it? Because it is what controls our life now. It is what gets us through this world now because we have something better waiting on the other side. Far better. And it's not just a hope, like, oh, I hope though. Because the first one is already there, the resurrected Christ. He's already there. For, as he says in verse 24, in hope we have been saved. The hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance, we what? We wait eagerly for it. You don't just wait, you wait eagerly. Like an expectation. Like I can't wait. Because it's not just us, right? Our new body. We're going to a new world. It's hard to imagine. So let me just close with it. It's so hard to imagine. We look at our world today, it's just such a mess. We got troubles in our job, we got troubles in our family, we got troubles in our country. I mean, it just goes on and on, right? It's like suffering, suffering, suffering. Are we ever gonna get out of this? We feel like we're not, right? Is it just gonna go on and on? We feel like it's just gonna go on and on.
SPEAKER_02:Can't I just have some rest? No. I mean, this is the way you feel, right? Troubled, weighed down, frustrated. That's why.
SPEAKER_01:You have to keep coming back to these texts. Because these texts are telling us what reality is. And what we've done is we've painted a wrong reality. This will not be here forever like it is now. But what's hard for us is to imagine that it could change. But it is going to change.
SPEAKER_02:That's the whole thing. If the Lord Jesus Christ comes back, I'm telling you, all this is going to change radically. And so can we go on?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, we can go on training for reigning. You say, I'm going to be a king, I'm going to be given responsibility. I'm going to rule over mortals. Yes. You're going to do that. You, you, you, you, you. All of you. You say in what capacity? I don't know. That's a that's between you and the Lord, right? I don't know. But there is status and rank. And Paul says, I want you to run so as to win the prize.
SPEAKER_02:I want you to run. I want you to run. I want I want you all to run.
SPEAKER_01:You may just get mad at me now, this side. Because I'm telling you to run and live the Christian life and all that kind of stuff. But you'll thank me later, right? Not because of me, but because God wants me to tell you what he's saying. And this is what he's saying.
SPEAKER_02:You're here for him.
SPEAKER_01:It's for him and his glory. And one day all this is going to go away. You're going to say, My life was so short. But guess what? Eternity is forever. Eternity is forever. None of us even know what that means. I don't know what that means. Forever. You know the song Amazing Grace, when we've been there 10,000 years?
SPEAKER_02:You know? 10,000 years is nothing, folks. Forever is forever. So all this is going to fade.
SPEAKER_01:And isn't that what he says? My grace is sufficient for you. My power is perfected in weakness. The sufferings of this age cannot compare to the glories to follow. Isn't that what it says? That's exactly what it says. The sufferings now cannot compare. They'll all go away. You'll forget about it. It's nothing. So if you can forget about it now, guess what? Your life will be lived a lot better. Because you'll be living for then and not for now.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas. If you would like to see the visuals that went along with today's sermon, you can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spokane Bible Church. That is where Jeremy is the pastor and teacher. We hope you found today's lesson productive and useful in growing closer to God and walking more obediently with Him. If you found this podcast to be useful and helpful, then please consider rating us in your favorite podcast app. And until next time, we hope you have a blessed and wonderful day.