The Power of God

RV158-02

Satan is permanently expelled from access to the third heaven in the middle of the future tribulation era. The church-age believers, at that point in time (when that happens), will have been in heaven for three-and-a-half years themselves, following the rapture of the church. So, we Christians will indeed be on hand to observe this enormous, angelic battle out in space, and to observe Satan's total defeat with his demonic angels, and his expulsion from heaven. We will be there to see him literally taken by the scruff of his neck and kicked out of heaven itself. No doubt, we Christians will be part of the heavenly company which John hears rejoicing over the fact that God is soon to bring certain long-awaited divine works to completion.

Salvation

The Judgment Seat of Christ

At that point, we've indicated, this salvation will include the release of nature from the corrupting influences of sin, and a perfect environment will be created. This is part of ultimate salvation. Mankind will then truly be able to enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness under the world government of Jesus Christ.

Power

God Permits Evil to have its Day

What we as believers long for is the day when God's omnipotent power and sovereign authority is fully unleashed against evil doers. We're all looking forward to that day when God, who is holding back His power now, pushes the throttle to the wall, and takes off with the full blast of the potential of what He can do.

Revelation 6:9-11 describe that: "And when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the Word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained." John sees under the altar in heaven the souls of martyrs who stood firm for the Lord Jesus Christ. These have died over the centuries, and in large numbers during the tribulation: "And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O, Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood, on those who dwell on the earth? And there was given to each of them a white robe." This is the robe of their earned righteousnesses. This is the robe of the righteousnesses that they earned by their good works. And they were told that: "They should rest for a little while longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed (even as they had been) should be completed also." We believers long for the day when God turns His power loose on this world system of Satan.

The same hope is expressed in Psalm 13:1: "How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord, my God. Enlighten my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemies say, 'I have overcome him;' lest my adversaries rejoice when I am shaken. But I have trusted in Your loving kindness. (That is the Hebrew word there for 'grace.') My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me."

Yes, the psalmist here expresses the same hope that these people in heaven that John hears are expressing: "How long, O God? How long before You turn loose your power. Well, when Satan is thrown out of heaven in the middle of the tribulation, they know from Scripture that three-and-a-half years is all that they're going to have to wait. They know that the return of Christ is imminent, and that they will, at His Second Coming, see Him coming with His power full blast.

The Power of God

1. God's Power in Creation

   First of all, God has revealed His power, certainly in creation. Romans 1:20 says, "For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." This is the verse that declares for us that people are responsible for being aware that there is a God out there because of creation itself. There are things that we cannot see about God's characteristics – His attributes. But we do see that anybody who could put a world together like this (this universe) has power which is great and eternal, and that He must indeed be God Himself – His divine nature.

   The same principle was used by Jeremiah, who was called the weeping prophet, because he told the people of his day about the terrible things that were coming upon them if they didn't straighten up and start obeying God. Instead of listening to him, they called him a traitor. They accused him of treason, and they abused him. The whole religious establishment expressed their contempt for him, but he kept coming back with the Word of God. Jeremiah acted like that because he knew the power of God, and he knew the power of God because he appreciated what it took to create this world. In Jeremiah 10:12, we read, "It is He who made the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom, and by His understanding, He has stretched out the heavens. So, one of the things that is indicated, that illustrates the power of God, is what it took to create the universe.

2. God's Power in Maintaining the Universe

   However, there's also another expression and demonstration of the power of God, and that is in the function of maintaining the universe. Isaiah 40:26: "Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created those stars – the one who leads forth their host by number. He calls them all by name because of the greatness of His might, and the strength of His power. Not one of them is missing." The next time a falling star, remind yourself that God has a name for that star, and that He has permitted it to fall and burn itself out in the atmosphere. He has every one of those stars cataloged by name. He has a name for each of them.

   Isn't that amazing? Your mind goes blank. How can you even conceive of such a thing? How can you conceive of someone with the power to have all those stars under His observation and awareness?

   Compare this concept of God not permitting any star to get out of line or to be lost, and to maintain their particular orbits, with Colossians 1:17. The apostle Paul referred to this same thing – the power of God to keep the universe operating: "And He (Jesus) is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." It is the Lord Jesus Christ who keeps the universe from tearing itself apart. He keeps it and holds it on course together.

   Jeremiah 51:16 also refers to this expression of the power of God: "Then when He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens. And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and brings forth the wind from His storehouses." He makes the forces of nature operate in their orderly courses and fashion.

   This omnipotent power of God is exercised by the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's what the people of the world need to be aware of. In Revelation 5:12-13, this is indicated. God's omnipotent power is possessed by Jesus Christ the God-man: "Saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing, and every created thing which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying to Him (God the Father) who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, the Lord Jesus, be blessing, and honor, and glory, and dominion (power) forever and ever."

   God's omnipotent power is exercised by His Son, Jesus. At this very moment of time, the Lord Jesus Christ sits in heaven at the right hand of this omnipotent divine power. In Luke 22:69, this is indicated: "But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God." When the disciples saw the Lord ascend from the earth; pass through the clouds; and, out of their sight into heaven, this is where He was going – to take His position at the right hand of the supreme, omnipotent power of God.

   Matthew. 26:64 also indicates this: "Jesus said to him, 'You have said it yourselves. Nevertheless, I tell you. Hereafter, you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.'" When he said this, the high priest tore his robes in horror, and called it blasphemy. Jesus was saying, "I who stand before you am the true Son of God. I am a God-man. I am the one of whom Scripture spoke and promise, and you are going to see me, whether you like it or not, exercising the power of God. Before I do that, I'm going to go to heaven. And the time will come when you will see me sitting at the right hand of that authority in the power of God, before I come to exercise that very power against you."

   It is the Lord Jesus who is going to come to this earth to terminate the power of Satan and his followers with the power of God. Matthew 24:30: "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory." At the close of the tribulation, Russia and her allies will decided to move down from the north against Israel. Egypt and her southern allies will decide to move in a pincer movement from the south upward against Israel. The nations of the world will begin moving toward Israel. The oriental nations will cross the dried up Euphrates River and head for the land of Israel. All the nations of the earth will gravitate toward the final battlefield of Megiddo. There they will face off with each other, ready to have the final dramatic world war.

   Then, suddenly, the sky is going to explode with light over their heads, and they will look up, and to their horror, they see what they never wanted to believe: Jesus Christ the God-man coming, mounted on a horse with dramatic power brilliantly displayed all around Him, and all the soldiers of the church age marching behind Him. They will realize then that what they've always heard is really true. That's why there are people in the American government who know enough about the Word of God, and who are oriented enough to spiritual matters, that they take these things seriously, and wonder what part they are playing in this world conflict now. That's why the White House has twice, in recent weeks, called Dallas Seminary to inquire about prophetic matters, and what they believe is taking place right now, and where this fits into the picture. When the Lord Jesus Christ shows up on the scene with this power, He's going to come right at the enemy directly. These nations on the earth are going to say, "Why are we fighting one another? He is our enemy." They will suddenly join forces against the Son of God who will destroy them with the word of His mouth. That will bring to an end the times of the gentiles.

   The gospel of the grace of God in providing a free salvation for morally guilty sinners is an expression of the power of God indeed. Romans 1:16 is in the context of verse 17, which brought Martin Luther into this great salvation. The apostle Paul says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." The power of the gospel is the capacity of the good news of trusting in Christ for salvation to transform my life. That's what it does. How? Who can explain it? Who knows? Here is the vilest of creatures who is suddenly transformed into a paragon of virtue, because the power of the gospel transforms. But for some people, it just rolls off their back. For some people, it is nothing. But for those whom God has chosen to bring into His family, this power that is contained in the gospel message is absolutely magnificent. It is a transforming power.

   1 Corinthians 1:18: "For the Word of the Cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God."

   Let's add to that 1 Peter 1:5. Peter says, "Who are protected by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." This salvation revealed in the last time is what the saints in heaven, that John sees, are rejoicing in. God's power is in motion to bring their salvation to completion – the power of the gospel. Certainly, there is the power of the Word of God itself. It is amazing how often I discover people who sit in this congregation, who hear the Word of God with all of its power, that it potentially has, that can simply transform you, and that can make you a really magnificent human being, and it passes right over their heads. Just recently, I heard some of the grossest ideas doctrinally that you could imagine from someone who should have known a lot better.

   So, what's happening? People actually think that you can come in here, and this is just another little church operation, and you sit here, and you get a few kicks, and a few laughs, and then you go home, and that's it. You've had your shot for the week. They don't realize that they're in the presence of power because the Word of God is what is dispensed here.

   Then people come, and they wonder why they have enormous tragedies in their life. It is so hard for me to say, "Now you have heard the instruction on this problem, and I know that you know the truth. So, I understand that you wanted to wrack yourself up like this. Do I have that straight? You wouldn't be that dumb as to not obey the principles, and then come and wonder why you're all torn up like this." Up to now, I have restrain myself from saying that. But that's what's happening. They are shredding themselves when they have the power of God at their disposal.

3. God's Power in Parting the Red Sea

   What is the standard of the power of God that God exercises moment-by-moment in your behalf? Just what will we compare the power to that is at your fingertips every day? In the Old Testament, when God wanted to remind the Jews that He was a God of power, and that that power was working in their behalf, the standard of power that God always pointed back to was: "Remember when you stood on the Red Sea, and you were blocked in by the mountains on both sides, and Pharaoh's elite troops were barreling down on you from behind in their chariots, and there was the body of the Red Sea in front of you? There was no place to go. You were in terror; you were in turmoil; and, you were in desperation. You had to get from this shore over to the other shore. That was the place of safety, and this body of water was between you and Pharaoh's army."

   God says, "Do you remember what I did? Do you remember how I opened it up? Do you remember how, after it was opened up, the ground was perfectly dry, and the whole million-and-a-half of you just marched right through? And Pharaoh and his army were confused. And I kept My cloud there, and they kept going up side roads. They got all confused out there, and they should have been on you, but I held them back. When you were through, do you remember how I pulled up the cloud, and Pharaoh and his troops finally got themselves oriented in the direction they should go, and they came right after you. They stopped for a moment; they looked at this wall of water rising on both sides; and, then they thundered into it, because they were going to get you on the other side. You were out when I had him well into the middle of it. I made the ground wet, and the chariot wheels began to bog down. They didn't bog down under your feet, but they did now. Consequently, the movement stopped. The troops behind kept coming, and piling up on the ones in the front which weren't moving, and then I let the waters collapse on them."

   Now, that's a better trick than Houdini could ever do. God said, "Now, when you feel blue, and you are feeling sorry for yourself, I want you to remember that what I'm ready to do for you is demonstrated by the kind of power I had to do that at the Red Sea."

4. God's Power in the Resurrection

   Well, God has a standard of comparison for us in the churches as well. He doesn't use that one for us. The power that is exercised by God, and which is going to come to a climax at the end of that tribulation period for the believer is expressed in Ephesians 1:18-21: "I pray that the eyes of your heart (your mind) may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints; and, what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might, which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places."

   What is the power at your disposal? It is the power that has to be enormous. Nothing is so frustrating as to stand in the presence of a person who has passed out of this life, and he is dead. And no matter what you do, you cannot reverse that. You can shake him; you can speak to him; and, you can call out, but you cannot awaken him. No matter what you may try to do medically, it is beyond your control. It is done with. You can put electrical probes on him, and you can do anything under the sun, but he is dead. You cannot bring life again.

   What kind of power is required to bring life to a dead body? It is beyond our imagination. It is beyond our comprehension. But God says, "I can do it. It is nothing for Me to do. And what I did for Jesus, My Son, when I raised him from that tomb and brought Him back to life, that enormous power which characterizes Me, your God, is the power that I'm going to give you every step of the day; every step of the way; and, every day of your life. For whatever problem you face, you don't have to go into panic. You don't have to press that panic button. You don't have to come all unglued. You don't have to come all apart. You have to look and say, "Now, here's where I have to call upon the magnificent power of God, so great, as demonstrated by His capacity to raise a dead person back to life. That's the standard that God points back to when He reminds us of what we have at our disposal.

5. God's Power in the Believer

   The power of God is exemplified also by the fact that it will operate indeed in the church-age believer. We have that promise in Ephesians 3:20. This power that can raise a dead body operates in you: "Now to Him, who is able to do exceedingly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us." This, of course, is a promise to those of you who stay in the inner circle of temporal fellowship. When you're out of the inner circle of temporal fellowship, you have short-circuited the whole system, and you can forget about power. If a crisis hits you when you're out of temporal fellowship, boy, you are going to come apart. Boy, you are going to be going in all directions. You're going to be beside yourself.

   However, when you're in that inner circle, I don't care what hits you, you have God's perspective and you have God's power. The greatest tragedy, and the greatest grief, and the greatest problem, and the greatest disappointment is taken in stride. Now, until you've been there, and until you experience that, this may be just talk. But for those of you who have been there, as many of you have, you know that the power of God comes through, and you know that something tremendous and terrific is working in your experience, and you have nothing to do with it, except to stay in touch with the Spirit of God through your confession.

6. God's Power over Sickness

   Because Christ has power over death, He also happily has power over sickness. It takes a lot of power for this as well. It's good to remind ourselves that He has power over sickness. Luke 5:17: "And He descended with them, and stood at a level place. There was a great multitude of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases, and who were troubled with unclean spirits, were being cured. And all the people we're trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him, and healing all of them." They just reached out there and touched Him: "And there came from Him healing."

   One of the great con men of the Dallas area was on television again this week, and I happened to catch him while I was eating lunch. It was very upsetting. It's not a good thing to do. But he was going through his routine and saying, "I have power. You can make fun of it. Oh, yeah, I know you smart guys out there. But I have power. There it is. I just feel it coming. There's a man out there..." Then he went through a series of describing of illnesses. He said, "Now, here it is. Here's my hand. Put your hand on the television set. Come on. Get up out of your chair and walk over there and put your hand on that television set." Then he went off into babbling in tongues, and he said, "There it is. I feel it. There's a man who just had his gallstones removed."

   Now, I know there must be people all over this area who were putting their hands on that television set to get power from that palm. What he's getting in his palm is their money by the carloads, because they're just that dumb, and just that stupid, and just that disoriented.

   The power of God indeed, on occasion, that enables sicknesses to be removed, flowed through the servants of God. But that doesn't happen anymore now. The closest that we get to dispensing the power of healing is through prayer. But the Lord Jesus Christ, when people came to Him, the text said, "They were all cured." I guarantee you that the people that come to the healers of our day, that the one thing they don't get is cured. They get fleeced, but they don't get cured.

   Matthew 4:23 does not say: "And Jesus was going about in Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing certain diseases which were not too bad, and which were not too hard to deal with, and certain sicknesses that you could get over by yourself." That's not what it says. It says, "He was healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness."

   The healers today don't take on the serious, serious illnesses. The terminal jobs don't go to them.

   We're talking about power over something that we are faced with that we are helpless in the face of. I remind you again that you, as a believer in the royal family of God, are immortal until God has finished your service, or He has decided that you're never going to get with it. When He has decided you're never going to get with it, or you have completed your mission, only then do you lose your immortality, and only then will He take you to heaven, unless you have jumped the gun with the sin unto death, and your refusal to confess and straighten up.

   God's power can heal. God's power indeed can resurrect the dead. This was the power that is working in our behalf as was used in Christ. But God is capable of doing this for all of us. 1 Corinthians 6:14 says, "Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power." So, I remind you, yes, he did it for His Son. But don't forget, because there's a man in heaven (there's a human being in heaven), that means that we will be there too. Yes, we human beings will be there by the power of God. You may add 1 Corinthians 15:43 and John 5:25-29.

   Certainly, the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated that He had the power of God. Acts 2:22 stresses this for us. It's quite obvious that Jesus Christ had the power of God. That's what makes it so hard for us to try to understand how people could turn their backs on Him when He demonstrated this kind of power over the laws of nature itself. Peter says, "Men of Israel, listen to these words. Jesus, the Nazarene, a Man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourself know." Those miracles, signs, and wonders demonstrated who He was.

In Jeremiah 32:17, Jeremiah, in the midst of that kind of agony said, "O Lord God, behold You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power, and by Your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You."

In verse 27, God said, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?" The answer is, "No."

So, what will you do the next time that you get a problem that obviously is beyond your human capacity to deal with? That is what is too difficult, but not for God. The question is: What do You want to do about this impossible problem I have, Lord? Are You going to take me into death? Are you going to solve this problem in my life? Are You going to take me forward? Are You going to take me be backward? I can't do anything about this. What are You going to do about it? Matthew 19:26 says, "And looking upon them, Jesus said to them, 'With men, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible."

So, this was a little brief review of some of the examples of the illustrations and the expressions of the power of God. Power is a word to us, but it is magnificent in its operation, and beyond our grasp. This is the cause for the joy of the people in heaven who have suffered so much here on earth. The voices in heaven are expressing the joy that God is now about to fully unleash His power against evil.

Don't you get sick and tired of evil getting away with things? What do you think is going to happen to these two teenagers who yesterday murdered four workers at the Taco Bell, and stuffed them into a freezer, just to steal some money? Doesn't it make you want to go out and find them, and dispatch them into that great taco factory in the sky yourself? You suspect that someone's going to say, "Oh, these poor boys! It's not their fault. You should see what mothers they had. These kids had diaper rash like you wouldn't believe, and nobody ever did anything about it. This is why they're so antagonistic now. Do you know what it is to have diaper rash? No. So, you can't be sympathetic."

I can just see some silver-tongued lawyer pleading this case before the law courts for these kids, and somebody saying, "Yeah, let's rehabilitate them." They put four people in deep-freeze for eternity, but we can salvage them." This is where people in heaven are saying, "O, God, I'm looking forward to when Your power comes into the picture, and evil is going to get its just desserts." These voices are delighted to express their joy that God's power is about to be turned loose against evil. When it is, God is going to terminate Satan's deceit of mankind. He's going to imprison him in the pit of the abyss for 1,000 years.

Revelation 20:1-3 tells us about that. When Jesus comes the second time, John sees the results: "And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for 1,000 years (that is, during the Millennial Kingdom), and threw him into the abyss (not into Hades, and not into the lake of fire, but into a special holding pen), and shut it, and sealed it over him so that he should not deceive the nations any longer until the 1,000 years were completed. After these things, he must be released for a short season."

Can you imagine what kind of a world you and I are going to be running for the Lord, where Satan is not around, deceiving nations and rulers, and leading them to act with irrational brutality? But at the end, Satan is going to be released for a little time. And, lo and behold, children who were born during the tribulation are going to prove that they remain rebels against Jesus the King, and they will rally once more to Satan.

However, when the Lord returns, His power is going to put Satan on hold. He's going to take the antichrist and his false prophet, and he's going to cast them directly into the lake of fire. Revelation 19:20: "And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence (that is, miracles) by which he deceived those who had the mark of the beast, and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone." Those words are not poetic. They are accurate descriptions of what people will be in who do not have Christ as Savior.

Jesus Christ then is going to be established as the ruler of all nations, and He will rule a world of enforced peace and righteousness. Isaiah saw this coming, and he spoke of it in Isaiah 9:6-7: "For a Child will be born to us. A Son will be given to us. The government of the whole world will be on his shoulders. His name will be called wonderful counselor; mighty God; eternal Father; and, Prince of Peace." There will be no peace on this earth without the Prince of Peace: "There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace on the throne of David and over His kingdom (This is the Messianic Kingdom of David here on this earth), to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of armies will accomplish this."

God himself is going to accomplish this magnificent achievement. It will be a world where righteousness will be enforced; nobody gets away with anything; and, peace is worldwide.

In Isaiah 2:4, we read, "He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples. They will hammer their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war." They won't have to. There isn't going to be any war.

When God's power finally is turned loose, it will crush all resistance on earth against the reign of Jesus. He will then indeed be King of Kings and Lord of Lords, as described in Revelation 11:15: "The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord." Do you remember what I taught you there – why "the kingdom of the world" is singular? It is because the antichrist will be in charge. There will only be one kingdom then: "And it will become the Kingdom of the Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.

Psalm 2:2 gives us the same picture. It is such a clear declaration: "The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together (there on the field of Megiddo, they see Jesus coming) against the Lord and against His anointed." This is what they're planning to do. God is going to bring his power at this point in time to its ultimate fruition, against all the things that we always hoped the power of God would finally straighten out. And when He is through, He is going to bring all mankind into subjection to Jesus Christ. All of the people who now thumb their nose at Christ, and all the people who give Him a pat on the head and say, "He was a good prophet. He was a good man, but Muhammad was the greatest," or "Joseph Smith was the final word." All of the false Messiahs and Christs down the line. They're going to be in for a big shock. The time is going to come that those who will not bow to Jesus Christ voluntarily now, will do so by force.

The problem will be that when they bow under those conditions, they will bow as lost people – as unbelievers who have no hope. But all the world is going to recognize that He is the one around whom all the universe revolves. He is the preeminent one.

We close with Philippians 2:9-11, which present for us the ultimate result of the power of God when it's turned loose in all of its force: "Therefore, also God highly exalted Him (Christ), and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, those who are on earth, and those who are under the earth (in hell), and that every knee should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father."

What a tragedy it will be for all those Jews who will be under the earth in the lake of fire. They will bow there in hell, and they will now admit, "Jesus is the Messiah Lord." To say that He is Lord is to say that He is God. That's what "Lord" means. To recognize him as Lord is to recognize him as deity. What a tragedy! Here's Adolf Hitler. He kneels in subjection to Jesus while he burns in that lake of fire. Next to him, and all around him, are the Jews that he sent into that lake of fire who, because they would not receive Christ, have gone to their eternal doom. There's the vast number of religions who have given you a works system: the Mormon system of proving yourself worthy; the Catholic system of earning the merit of Christ by proving yourself justified; and, the Muhammadan system (the Islamic system) of exalting Muhammad as the final access to God, and Jesus Christ as a secondary confirmation of the exaltation of Muhammad, the gateway to God.

All of these people will be there. And, yes, we fear that probably Saddam Hussein, who now bows to no man, is going to bow the knee to Jesus Christ, whose people he now hates, and who is determined to destroy the nation of Israel. He is Satan's latest man on the scene to try to put the nation of Israel out of existence, and to destroy the Jewish people in order to frustrate God's plan of a Millennial Kingdom with Jews in their natural human bodies, coming to rule the world.

The next thing that John sees coming to pass in culmination is the thing that fascinates us very much today. For he says, "The next thing is the kingdom. And next time, we shall take up the culmination of the kingdom of God. This is a term that I hear people use so loosely and so ignorantly, who do not understand what the Kingdom of God is really all about. But these saints in heaven come to a glorious climax of enthusiasm, when they say, "Yes, our salvation is going to be finished. The power of God is going to be turned loose. But glory of glories, the kingdom is finally going to be established. Next time, we will look at that.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1990

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