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What
is Wrong with the World? Revelation 20:7 – 10 INTRODUCTION ·
Series Introduction: This is the fifth of
the Seven Last Things, The Seven Last Things
of Human History. The first was the
Return of Christ; then came Christ’s Defeat of the Anti-Christ; next was the
Apprehension and Arrest of the Person behind the Antichrist, Satan himself; then we arrived at the Millennium;
now the Millennium is over and we
witness Satan’s Revolt and Man’s Rebellion. So, we have seen that . . . Heaven
will Rejoice, 19:1 – 10 Christ
will Return, Saints
will Reign, 20:4 – 6 Satan will Revolt, 20:7 – 10 ·
Sermon Introduction In
1977, Bishop Fulton Sheen said in an interview, “The modern world does
not believe in in. The ministers and priests [have] stopped
talking about sin. The lawyers picked it
up and it became a
‘crime.’ The psychiatrists
reached for it and it became a ‘complex.’ It used
to be that we Catholics were the only ones in the world who believed in the immaculate conception of the Virgin
Mary. Today every American believes he is immaculately
conceived. [If he does something wrong] he is not a sinner; he is [just]
sick.” I do not agree with his theology, but his observation is
correct. I am sure when the genetic scientist is through it will
not be our fault, but truly our parents because it is in our genes. I.
What will the world be like without
Satan? A. Genesis B. Isaiah 9:7 – there will be peace. C. Isaiah 11:6
– 8
– there will be difference in the animals. D. Isaiah 16:5 – there will be mercy. E. Isaiah 65:20 – there will be long life. F. Isaiah 65:21
– 22
– there will be social justice for all. G. Isaiah 9:6
– 7
– Jesus will reign. H. Zechariah The world will
be the utopia the world wants. II.
What will the world be like when
Satan is loosed? A. There will be deception, v. 8a. 1. tele,w –
“expire” means to finish, brought to a goal. There is a reason and a purpose to this. Jesus said, “It is finished.” The Apostle Paul said, “I have finished
my course.” 2. dei/ -
“must” (20:3) means “it is necessary” a sense of divine
destiny. Jesus said, “I must be
about my Father’s business; “Ye must be born again”; and
“I must needs go through 3. Satan’s nature, incorrigible,
and his plans have not changed. B. There will be delusion, v. 8b – 9b. 1. Man’s nature is depraved and
it will not change. Man under the most
favorable circumstances will fall into sin when left to his choice. 2. Why after surviving the Ten Plagues,
including the death of the firstborn would Pharaoh think he could recapture 3. Why after witnessing the earth
opening up and swallowing the rebels and the fire consuming 250 men offering
the wrong incense, that the Israelites would murmur against the Lord and Moses,
Numbers 16:31, 35, and 41. C. There will be devastation, v. 9c. The power of God is so
overwhelming that there is not even the appearance of a battle when God
destroys evil cf. 19:21. D. There will be death, v. 10. 1. Compare John 14:2 and Matthew 25:42 – same word for
“prepare.” 2. There is no
annihilation the beast and false prophet were there 1000 years. 3. There is no intermission, “day
and night”; there is no termination “forever and ever.” CONCLUSION Years ago in the London Times there were a series of
articles about the same social problems we face now. At the end of each article was the question,
“What’s wrong with the world?” This reply was given,
“Dear Editor: What’s wrong with the world? I am. Faithfully yours, G.K.
Chesterton.” The base of
all human problems is the depravity and the sinfulness of man. The last
rebellion, the last sin, the last death is prophesied in these verses. Who will be the last person to die without
Jesus Christ? Will it be you? God has
prepared two eternal homes for his creatures.
Do you want to live forever in God’s home or in Satan’s
home? |