Robert Jeffress - Jesus the King
Hi, I’m Robert Jeffress, and welcome again to «Pathway to Victory». Throughout history, kings and queens have ruled over vast empires, but every earthly ruler eventually surrenders their crown. There is, however, one King whose reign will never end, and his name is Jesus Christ. Today we’ll explore what Scripture reveals about Christ’s future 1000-year reign on Earth and what it means for believers today. My message is titled Jesus the King on today’s edition of «Pathway to Victory».
Like many of you, I was one of millions who a few years ago was watching the funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II. As I watched that service unfold, I thought about her longevity as Queen. During her time, she had 15 different prime ministers who served her, beginning with Winston Churchill. Every United States president, from Harry Truman to Joe Biden, visited her, with the exception of Lyndon Johnson. She reigned for 70 years and 214 days, making her the longest monarch in Britain’s history. But then she eventually died and she had to relinquish her kingdom to another.
Ladies and gentlemen, you and I serve a King who also died, but thank God, that’s not the end of the story. He rose again from the dead, and one day he’s returning to reign over this world. He’s bringing in a new kingdom that we will be a part of. He is the ruler, the leader that everyone has looked for and longed for, whether they realize it or not, one who rules in compassion, with absolute justice and with fairness, one who’s able to vanquish evil itself. Today we’re going to talk about an event in the end times that reveals perhaps more than any other Jesus as King, and it’s an event called the Millennium, the 1000-year reign of Christ on Earth.
You know, I was talking to our friend David Jeremiah a week or two ago. He called to check and see how our church was doing, and we were talking about his new book. He said, «There is such an absence of books about the Millennium that I decided to write one». He beat me to the punch on it, but he’s got a book coming out about the Millennium, but it’s not talked about that much at all. And yet, it represents what we’ve all longed for… a perfect kingdom, one on which Jesus Christ has complete authority over. Let’s look at the events, first of all, that happened right before the Millennium. What happens during that first 30 days after Christ returned? One thing that happens is the Judgment of the Nations. God does judge us individually, but he also judges nations.
And remember, only believers can enter into the Millennium. And there will be plenty of unbelievers who are left after Jesus returns, who survived the tribulation. So there has to be some kind of judgment. And Matthew 25 talks about those judgments that occur when Christ returns before the Millennium. The Judgment of Nations is one of those. Next time we’re going to talk about the different judgments of Jesus Christ, Jesus the Judge, but that’s not the only thing that happens during the first 30 days. In addition to the judgments, notice that the Antichrist and false prophet will be thrown into the lake of fire once Jesus returns. Immediately at his second coming. The Antichrist and false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire.
Look at Revelation 19:20: «And the beast», that’s the Antichrist, «was seized». This is when Jesus returns. «The beast, the Antichrist, was seized and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two», that is the Antichrist and the false prophet, «were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone». What is the lake of fire? The lake of fire is the final destination of every unsaved person who has ever lived. It’s not Hades.
If an unbeliever dies today, Luke 16 says he goes to Hades. He’s conscious. It’s a place of torment, Jesus said, but it’s not the final judgment place. The final judgment is the lake of fire, and notice two members of the satanic trinity: Satan, the beast, and the false prophet. Two of those, the false prophet and the beast, are thrown into the lake of fire. But where does Satan go? What happens to him? Well, that’s the second thing that happens. Satan is bound and imprisoned in the abyss. What is the abyss? There is a place right now, we don’t know where it is, for some especially horrible demons. You would think all demons are horrible, and they are, but some special class of demons are so evil that are imprisoned already in the abyss. The Greek word is «abyssos,» and notice what happened to Satan.
Revelation 23: «And the angel threw Satan into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time». We’ll get to that in a moment, but this place, the abyss, was so horrible that even demons did not want to be there. Remember the demons who were running around on the Earth in Jesus’s day in Luke 8? Jesus was about to dispatch them into the abyss, and they pled with Jesus, «Please, don’t send us to that horrible place». They would rather occupy some swine or another human being than to be into the abyss. That’s where the devil is going to end up. He’s going to end up in the abyss. Why? Because unlike the beast and false prophet who are finished at this point, there’s more work for Satan to be done at the end of the Millennium.
Again, we’ll get to that in a moment. There’s a third thing that happens in that first 30 days of Christ’s return, and that is the resurrection of the Old Testament and tribulation saints. Just imagine this parade. There’s a leader of the parade, and others are joining the parade at specific points along the parade route. That’s the picture of the first resurrection. Who’s in that resurrection parade that’s led by Jesus Christ? Jesus and the first fruits, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15. Following Jesus is the church. That’s at the Rapture, the dead in Christ will be raised. Not their spirits, they’re already with the Lord. Their bodies will be raised, and we who are alive and remain at that time, shall be transformed both the dead in Christ and those alive at the Rapture. We will receive our brand new bodies.
So some have already received the resurrection bodies, but there’s still others who need them. And the first group that will receive their resurrection bodies will be the Old Testament saints. Where do I find that? Isaiah 26:19: «Your dead will live; their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust awake and shout for joy, for your dew is as the dew of the dawn, and the earth will give birth to the departed spirits». The other people who will have their bodies resurrected at the end of the tribulation will be the tribulation martyrs. That is those people who became Christians and gave their life because of their faith in Jesus Christ, the tribulation martyrs.
John refers to that in Revelation 20:4: «Then I saw the thrones, and they that sat upon them and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God and those who had not worshiped the beast’s image and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand and they came to life. That is their bodies came to life and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years». These resurrection martyrs, their spirits are right now in heaven, Revelation 6 tells us, but their bodies will be raised. They will be given new bodies at the end of the tribulation so that they can do what? They’re going to be among those who reign with Jesus Christ during his Millennial Kingdom. These are all the things that happened during the first 30 days, but notice.
Daniel said there’s another period of time, the 45 days. Daniel 12:12. «How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days». We’ve just gone through 30 days. What happens during the next 45 days? I believe that there’s great evidence that this is the time that the government, the new government under Jesus Christ, is being arranged. It doesn’t happen immediately. It takes time to institute this new government. This kingdom that we’re talking about is a real government on Earth. It’s not some of the ethereal make-believe government. It’s a real government. The seat of power will be Jerusalem. The throne will be David’s throne on which Messiah will reign, but there are others who will be reigning with him: the apostles, the tribulation saints. You may have an important responsibility.
2 Timothy 2:12 says, «If we endure with him, we shall also», what? «…reign with Him». When do we reign? Well, one time is during this Millennial Kingdom. So I think that 45 days is a time of transition. We’ve talked about what happens immediately before the Millennium. Let’s talk for a few moments about the Millennium itself. It’s a time of the fulfillment of prophecies that have been written for thousands of years. You know, one question people have is: «Why isn’t more in the New Testament about the Millennium? Why didn’t John say more»? He devotes six short verses in Revelation 20, Revelation 21 through 6 to describe the Millennium. But the most important aspect of the Millennium is the King of the Millennium, Jesus himself.
You know, from his infancy, Jesus was known as the King of the Jews. The wise men came searching. «Where is he who’s been born King of the Jews»? When he was being crucified on the cross, the Romans put the placard above his head: «Behold the King of the Jews». Jesus’s role as King is fulfilled during the Millennium. They’re gonna be certain administrative blessings that come when he reigns. He’ll have a perfect government. There’ll be certain effects of sin that have been removed. He will rule in perfect judgment. Verse 3 of Isaiah 11 says, «He will delight in the fear of the Lord, And he will not judge by what his eye see, Nor make decision by what his ears hear. But with righteousness he will judge the poor, And decide with fairness the afflicted on the earth». He’s the perfect ruler, just think about it.
Finally, at last. A government you can be proud of, a government that doesn’t disappoint you severely. We all have that longing because we’re made in the image of God. We want a government that’s fair and equitable and that you can trust. We’ll have that in the Millennium. As I mentioned, there’ll be certain physical blessings. The curse won’t be completely lifted, but with Satan bound for a thousand years, much of the curse will be at least delayed. For example, no longer will we be fearful of wild animals. Isaiah 11:68 says, «The wolf will dwell with the lamb». Verse 8 says, «The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den».
That’s hard to imagine. There’ll be a longevity of life that we talked about. There’ll still be death, but it won’t be the kind of death that we experience now. What happens during the Millennium, ladies and gentlemen, is that the curse that came from sin in Genesis 3, it is partially, not completely lifted. I’ve often described the Millennium and contrasted it with the new heaven and Earth this way. The Millennium is a renovation of the current Earth. The new heaven and the new Earth are a recreation of the Earth.
There’s a difference between a renovation and a recreation. Seventeen years ago, when I had the privilege of being called to come as your pastor, we talked about what needed to be done first, and one of the priorities was we’ve got to do something about that children’s area in the Truett building. It was in complete disrepair. We couldn’t attract young families with a facility like that, and so we immediately began a renovation plan. We needed to do something, not tomorrow, not next year, but now. But we also had in mind an eventual recreation of our campus. We did the renovation first and then we blew it all up and did the recreation. There’s a difference between renovation and recreation. The Millennium is the renovation. There are certain spiritual blessings. The Earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord.
The Bible says that that day, at that time, every knee will bow. And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Now briefly, the events that followed the Millennium, after the thousand years, Satan is released and leads a minor revolt. Well, actually it’s a major revolt that lasts only a split second. The children of those who have been born during the Millennium, even though they’re living under the rule of Jesus Christ, you would think that they would follow him. But some will choose to rebel against him. You see, just being in a perfect environment is not enough to convert you. It takes the work of the Holy Spirit, and there will be some of those children who decide to follow after Satan. They’ll launch a rebellion against Jesus on his throne, and Jesus, just by the word of his mouth, will send the fire from heaven and destroy them completely.
What happens after that? Satan is cast into the lake of fire. Look at Revelation 20:10: «And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also», after a thousand years, they’re still alive, and that’s the horrible thing about hell. Unbelievers aren’t destroyed. They suffer there day and night forever and ever. A thousand years after being cast in that lake of fire, the false prophet and the beast are still there. That is the fate of all unbelievers. Following that, there’s a resurrection of all the unsaved. They are judged by whether or not their name is found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and if any man’s name was not found there, he too was cast into the lake of fire. Those who don’t know the Lord, those who don’t love the Lord are cursed, and they certainly don’t want the Lord to come. But the heartfelt desire of every Christian is that Jesus Christ come, and come quickly.
Dr. Dave Watson is the pastor of the Calvary Chapel on Staten Island. He tells a story about when he was 14 years old. He was on the verge of making some very bad decisions. And as he was turning those decisions over in his mind, he was walking through his house one day and he noticed a magazine sent to his parents «Decision Magazine» by Billy Graham. And on the cover was an article that caught his attention. «Are you ready for the last days»? And he sat and read that article. He’d went to church, he had heard the gospel but never presented against the backdrop of the end times, and he was troubled as he read that article, and the next day he went to school and there was a coach there who was known to be a Christian.
And David Watson asked him about the end times and about the events, and as a result of what that coach said, Dave Watson said, «I placed my faith and trust in Jesus’s death and resurrection for the forgiveness of my sins and my eternal destiny». I’d like to ask you the same question Billy Graham asked in that article more than 50 years ago. Are you ready? Are you prepared for the last days? Whether we’re talking about the last days of planet Earth or your last days on planet Earth. Are you ready? Are you prepared? The best way to prepare for the last days, the best way is to trust in Christ as your Savior, to receive the forgiveness of your sins, to receive the assurance that you’re going to be in heaven one day. Why is that so important to do now? Because ladies and gentlemen, the King is coming. Maranatha, O Lord, come.