A Pastor’s Joy

 Temple Baptist Church - 3-20-22 Homecoming Service

3 John 1-4

 

Introduction:

 

A.  35 years in this pulpit have been both a privilege and a joy.  Where have the years gone?  Truly it has been like a vapor that has vanished away; faster than a weaver's shuttle the time has passed. 

 

B.  I remember the first day that my family was here like it was yesterday.  How the church looked that Sunday morning; the people that were here that first day; what I taught and preached from this pulpit.  Wonderful memories.

 

C.  Every time I turn on Easy Street, I remember following Bro. Harold and Mrs. Joan to their home.  As I turn on Lisbon Road, I can still see the tall pines that lined the road.  Bro. Carroll and Mrs. Iris went to get Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch.  I remember sitting on the couch and enjoying the afternoon with these families. 

 

D.  I remember the first time Tommy Holbrooks came for a revival.  We went shopping for a sound system for the church.  That was the first of almost 30 years of Tommy's coming to Temple.  I remember Bro. Jimmie Clark coming year after year and, later, Bro. Frank Pittman.  What a blessing it was to pastor such a special church.

 

E.  I look around this morning, and much of the "scenery" has changed over the years, but the church remains the same.  Special people sitting on special pews in a special church.  I am thrilled this morning for being allowed to stand in this special pulpit where so many special men of God have stood.

 

F.  I think back over the years of all the missionary families that have impacted our lives and how man missionary families have been impacted by Temple Baptist Church.  This small church and these special people are known around the world today because of its mission outreach.  Millions of dollars well spent sharing the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ to the four corners of the earth.

 

G. It is special to find a church still standing in the same Old Paths that it walked in so many years ago.  Temple Baptist Church is "an anchor in the shifting sands" of religion.  They have left us, we did not leave them.  They changed, we did not.

 

H.  It is a special church that allows a man of God the opportunity to see them, their children, their grandchildren, and now their great grandchildren.  That is out of the ordinary in our day.

 

J.  Paul, when writing to the church at Thessalonica, said this: "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?  (20)  For ye are our glory and joy." (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20)

 

K.  It has also been a bitter-sweet experience,

 

1.  To see many who helped to make this church what it is today who have gone home to be with the Lord.  I sure miss our brothers and sisters in Christ who died but will one day soon be forever with them.

 

2.  But also, it has been a joy to see those who came and picked up the sword of the Word of God and continued to walk in their paths. 

 

L.  What is a pastor's joy?

 

1.  The Joy of sweet Fellowship with God’s People.  What a joy to be here today with this special people! 

 

2.  The Joy of Encouraging God’s People.  In thick and in thin.  Just the joy of being there with you in the hard times as well as the good times.

 

The Joy of Bearing The Burdens of God’s People.  Praying for one another through tough times for you and also for this pastor's family. 

 

4.  The Joy Of Having A Part of Your Lives.  Barbara and I care about your families.  Watching as your children grow up while being exposed to old fashioned church.

 

5.  The Joy of Seeing God’s People Unified.  Unfortunately, there have been times when old "Slew Foot" tried to get his foot in the door, but we stood together in those times and God has rewarded us for it.  You did not leave and neither did I.  We are Temple and we are one!

 

6.  The Joy of Standing And Walking in The Old Paths.  Because of this, we have been called a lot of things.  Because of this, I have been called a lot of things, but one thing that we have not been called is "liberal."  The Bible calls it "the good way!"

 

Jeremiah 6:16  Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

 

THEY WERE AND ARE CLEAR PATHS; THEY WERE AND ARE STRAIGHT PATHS; THEY WERE AND ARE THE RIGHT PATHS!

 

7.  Joy of Giving Account For God’s Faithful People.  Temple, you have done well! 

 

Hebrews 13:17  Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

 

Conclusion:  May God keep us in His will in these last days and allow us to continue to do something for the glory of God and for the souls of a lost world!

The Importance of The Church

 Temple Baptist Church - 3-13-2022

Psalms 122

Introduction: 

 

A.  I thank God for the local church.  For the past 45+ years, our home has been centered around it.  Church is a place to be enjoyed, not endured.  A place where we can come out of the world for a little while and worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.  A place where God's people come to worship and fellowship around the things of God.  A little bit of heaven on earth!

 

B.  Much is said in the Bible along these lines:

 

Psalms 65:4  Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

 

Psalms 84:2  My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

 

Psalms 84:10  For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

 

Psalms 92:13  Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.

 

Psalms 96:8  Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.

 

Psalms 100:4  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

 

Psalms 122:1  I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD. 

 

C.  In verse 1, David said, "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD."  In this Psalm, we find our why David was glad:

 

1.  God’s House is a place of Stability - vs 2

 

2.  God’s House is a place of Unity - vs 3

 

3.  God’s House is a place of Testimony - vs 4a

 

4.  God’s House is a place of Worship - vs 4b

 

5.  God’s House is a place of Judgment - vs 5a

 

6.  God’s House is a place of Promise - vs 5b

 

7.  God’s House is a place of Peace - vs 6a, 7a

 

8.  God’s House is a place of Affection - vs 6b

 

9.  God’s House is a place of Prosperity - vs 7b

 

10.  God’s House is a place of Companionship - vs 8

 

11.  God’s House is a place of Sharing - vs 9

 

A New Heaven and A New Earth

 Temple Baptist Church - 3-13-2022

Revelation 21:1; 20:11

 

A.  In Revelation 21:1, we find a reference to a "new" heaven and earth with not much said in the preceding verses concerning when, how, and why this is necessary in the light of eternity.  I will carefully compare scripture with scripture to establish this.  The key to its timing is found in chapter 20 as we find that the earth that we live on along with the heaven that we live under "fled away; and there was found no place for them."  Fled away means that they must leave, and no place found for them means that they will have no part of eternity because of their former condition and purpose.

 

Revelation 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

 

B.  This verse tells us the timing of the renovation of heaven and earth.  It is evidently a simultaneous event with the Great White Throne Judgment.  In order for the judgment to take place and also for the renovation to take place, several things had to immediately come to pass.  I will deal with them a little bit later in this message.

 

C.  In order to understand the last mention of heaven and earth, we need to go the first mention of the heaven and earth in Genesis, chapter 1.

 

On the first day of creation, the Bible establishes the creation of our atmosphere and the earth: Genesis 1:1  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

 

In this verse, we see that both heaven and earth are singular.  This is not the creation of our universe but of the heaven in which we live and breathe.

 

On the fourth day of creation, the Bible establishes the creation of our universe.  Genesis 1:14-18  And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:  (15)  And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.  (16)  And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.  (17)  And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,  (18)  And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

 

Genesis 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

 

D.  In the day that God created the heaven and the earth along with the universe, they were declared to be "good."  Later all of creation was declared "very good."  These two instances shows that they were created in perfection and purity.  There was no curse.

 

E.  In Genesis chapter 3, we find the fall and along with it, the curse that fell upon God's creation.  This curse has remained until this day and will remain until Revelation 20:15.

 

The Curse of this Earth - Genesis 3:17-19  And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;  (18)  Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;  (19)  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

 

Genesis 5:29  And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.

 

Isaiah 24:4-6  The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.  (5)  The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.  (6)  Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

 

The Curse of the Heavens - Job 25:5  Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.

 

F.  In the New Testament, we find these former verses paralleled:  Romans 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

 

"The whole creation" refers to both the heavens and the earth that God created.

 

G.  Today, our earth has hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, flooding, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc. because of the groaning and travailing in "pain together until now."  There were none of these things before the fall of man as they are a part of the curse of sin.

 

Revelation 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

 

Before there can be a "new heaven and a new earth," this cursed universe must be done away with and the heaven (our atmosphere) and earth in which live must have that curse removed.

 

Chapter 21, verse 11 gives us the when of the renovation.

 

H.  We see the when, now let us look at the how of renovation of the heaven and earth.  As I previously said, the judgment and curse of sin will be renovated at the same time.  Chapter 21 begins with the word "And" which implies these are simultaneous events.  2 Peter, chapter 3, gives us the "how" of this event.

 

2 Peter 3:10-13  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.  (11)  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,  (12)  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?  (13)  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

 

J.  Two things take place here: 1) the heavens will pass away with a great noise, 2) and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.  This is reiterated in verse 12, "the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat." 

 

Nuclear fission is the splitting of an atom into two or more particles.  Atomic bombs use nuclear fission, which means they gain energy by splitting atoms in materials such as uranium or plutonium.  We hear much in our day concerning the enrichment of bomb grade uranium and plutonium.

 

Elements are primary or basic constituents of matter.  These are substances that cannot be chemically broken down.  The word "elements" is one that is well known in science: there are 118 elements found in the Periodic Table of Elements where they are organized in order of increasing atomic numbers: the number of protons in the nuclei of its atoms.

 

What the Bible is saying is that the heavens and the earth will be purified down to its primary constituents!  No sin or curse will remain!

 

K.  The timing is a part of the "day of the LORD."  The phrase "day of the LORD" is found 31 times in your King James Bible with the word "LORD" capitalized in each instance.  When the word LORD is found in all capital letters, it’s representing the word "yeh-ho-vaw" or Jehovah: the self-Existent One or the Eternal One.  It is the Jewish national name of God.  The phrase "Day of the LORD" refers to the day of destruction and judgment for those who have rejected Him and His salvation.  It refers to the end of all things as we know it.

 

L.  Revelation 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

 

The sea had to give up the dead which were in it because there would be no seas on the new eternal earth.

 

Death or the grave had to give up the dead where were in them because there would be no graves on the new eternal earth.

 

Hell had to give up the dead which was in it because there would be no hell in the center of the new eternal earth.

 

The Sun, moon, and stars had to dissolve because there would be no need of them in eternity where there will be no night and God will be the Light.

 

M.  In the beginning, the earth was surrounded by a canopy that gave it a "greenhouse effect."

 

Genesis 1:6-8  And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.  (7)  And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.  (8)  And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

 

N.  The canopy was removed when the LORD flooded the earth and for the first time, man knew the 4 seasons.

 

Genesis 7:11  In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

 

Genesis 8:22  While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

 

O.  As the first earth was surrounded by a canopy which was necessary for the Garden of Eden to flourish, the new earth will possibly have a canopy as it will be like the Garden of Eden forever.

 

P.  In the beginning, God made all without the curse of sin and it was very good.  In the end, God will renovate a heaven and earth that will be very good forever.  That sounds like home to me.

The Great White Throne Judgment

 Temple Baptist Church - 3-6-2022

Revelation 20:11-15

 

A.  How quickly things change.  Satan is forever gone.  We will now live forever without his ungodly presence to contend with.  I often made a statement when leaving someone: "I am going to do something that Satan will never do.  I am going to leave you alone."   What a day that will be.

 

B.  Life as we now know it will be forever over as the 7 days or 7000 years of God's time are expired and "time is no more."  No more calendars; no more clocks; no more appointments; no more stress or worry.  In chapter 21, we will see the 7 no mores.

 

C.  Eternity has begun, and we are finally home.  We will be everything that God initially intended us to be.  Man was made for God, and we will have become one with Him.  This is what marriage is all about: that the twain will become one flesh.  Not that we will become God but, as the wife becomes one with her husband—we will become one with God.

 

D.  Now we have come to a tragic moment of eternity: the Great White Throne Judgment.  I believe that we will stand there in the presence of the Righteous Judge, the Lord Jesus Christ, as witnesses of God's salvation that the ungodly could have had but rejected.

 

Psalms 91:8  Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

 

E.  1.  The Reality of the Great White Throne Judgment.  “And I saw a great white throne”  Prophesied in both the Old and New Testaments.

 

Daniel 7:9-10  I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.  (10)  A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

 

F.  The Judge of the Great White Throne Judgment.  “and him that sat on it”  Jesus Christ.

 

John 5:22, 27  For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son …  (27)  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

 

Acts 10:42  And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.

 

2 Timothy 4:1  I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

 

G.  The Time of the Great White Throne Judgment.  (20:7, 21:1) “And when the thousand years are expired … the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.”

 

1.  Between the end of the Millennium and at the beginning of eternity - Revelation 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

 

2. While the earth is being purified and made new - 2 Peter 3:10-13  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.  (11)  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,  (12)  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?  (13)  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

 

3.  Prior to the New Heaven and New Earth - Revelation 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

 

H.  The People of the Great White Throne Judgment.  “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God … And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them”  The unsaved of all the ages.

 

John 5:28-29  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,  (29)  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

 

Daniel 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

 

J.  The Criteria of the Great White Throne Judgment.  “and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”

 

1.  The Book of Life - Daniel 12:1-2  And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.  (2)  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

 

Philippians 4:3  And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.

 

Revelation 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Exodus 32:32-33; Psalm 69:28; Philippians 4:3; Rev elation 3:5, 13:8, 17:8, 21:27, 22:19.)

 

2.  The Book of Works - Revelation 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (Matthew 16:27; 2 Corinthians 11:15)

 

a)  The Book of Words - Matthew 12:36-37  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  (37)  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

 

b)  The Book of Secrets - Romans 2:16  In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

 

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14  Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.  (14)  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

 

c)  The book of Conscience - Romans 2:12-16  For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;  (13)  (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.  (14)  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:  (15)  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)  (16)  In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

 

K.  The Eternal Punishment of the Great White Throne Judgment.

 

1.  The eternal home of the Unsaved.  Revelation 20:14-15  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  (15)  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

 

2.  The eternal home of the beast and false prophet.  Revelation 19:20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

 

3.  The eternal home of the devil.  Revelation 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

The End of The Millennium

 Temple Baptist Church - 2-27-2022

Revelation 20:7-10

 

A.  Now, the Millennium or Golden Age of 1000 years has come to pass.  The earth has enjoyed the wonderful earth that God has given to them to live on during this time with many of its characteristics the same as it was in the pre-flood period on earth.

 

B.  During the Millennium, we find man's last chance to bow to the Son of God!  As this Golden Age comes to an end, these on earth are either saved eternally or lost eternally.  The choice has been theirs for 1000 years.  Plenty of time to make up their minds and put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The lesson here is that choices eventually come to an end and have eternal consequences. 

 

John 12:35-37  Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.  (36)  While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.  (37)  But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:

 

C.  Revelation 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.

 

Satan has now been bound with a chain in the bottomless pit for 1000 years.  He never gives up though he has read the Bible and sees his ultimate end.  He continues to believe that he can destroy the Lord Jesus Christ and His kingdom on earth.  The Bible speaks of his loosing as being "a little season."

 

Revelation 20:3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

 

D.  Here we find that imprisonment does not reform.  Reformation comes through repentance and a resolve to change one's life.  Satan's desire is to continue his work of condemnation of mankind as he immediately begins to deceive the nations of the earth.

 

2 Corinthians 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

 

E.  Revelation 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

 

Their deception.  They of the "four quarters of the earth."  North, South, East, and West will be deceived by Satan and follow him in his quest to destroy God's chosen nation.  The people of earth have been anti-God since the rejection of Cain and the line of the ungodly was established in Genesis 4:17-24.  Though those who entered into the Kingdom Age were redeemed, for the next 1000 years, each generation had to personally come to know the KING KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, who sat upon the throne of David, personally.

 

Ezekiel 38:1-6  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,  (2)  Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,  (3)  And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:  (4)  And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:  (5)  Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:  (6)  Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.

 

Genesis 10:1-5  Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.  (2)  The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.  (3)  And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.  (4)  And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.  (5)  By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

 

Magog , Meshech , and Tubal: these were all sons of Japheth, who was one of the three sons of Noah.  Japheth and his family migrated to the area of modern-day Russia. Gog is a person who rules over the land of Magog (Russia).

 

Gomer and his bands: Probably the ancestor of the Gomermians, the present-day Germans who assaulted Assyria in the late 7th century BC. The Germans, from which the majority of the Western Europe nations such as the French, Spanish, and the Celtic people are descended, are said to have started from Gomer.

 

Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya: 

 

Persia In the Bible Persia is an empire located in southern Asia. It was created by Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BC and was destroyed by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC.  Today's Turkey and Iran. 

 

Ethiopia: peoples who lived in the southern Nile area, including southern Egypt plus modern-day Sudan, Ethiopia (called Havilah in Gen 2:11), Somalia and other areas.

 

Libya: a large nation of Northern Africa that lies west of Egypt.

 

The house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee: tribes of people who live in the "north quarters" of Turkey.

 

What do all these nations have in common?  They are all haters of Israel and would have no greater joy than to see Israel annihilated!  They have always persecuted the Jewish people.  These masses who have never been able to get along with each other are now confederate with a common enemy to fight, the LORD and His people.  An innumerable army!

 

F.  Revelation 20:8-9  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.  (9)  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city:

 

Their drawing.  As Egypt thought Israel to be entangled in the land, God will draw the followers of Satan to the place of His choosing at the time of His choosing.

 

Ezekiel 38:4  And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

 

Ezekiel 38:10-12  Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:  (11)  And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,  (12)  To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

 

G.  Revelation 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

Their destruction.  The followers of God will not have to fight in this battle as the battle is the Lord's.  This massive army with all their weapons of war will be destroyed by God.  This "battle" is very similar to the battle we read about in chapter 19 of Revelation. The only thing that makes this appear to be a different battle is that the one in chapter 19 happens in the valley of Megiddo. and this battle seems to be around the city of Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 38:16  And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

 

Ezekiel 38:21-23  And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother.  (22)  And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.  (23)  Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.

 

Ezekiel 39:2-8  And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:  (3)  And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.  (4)  Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.  (5) Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.  (6)  And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.  (7)  So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.  (8)  Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

 

H.  The fowl of the air and the beasts of the earth will once again aid in removing the carnage.  It will take 7 years for Israel to bury their bones.

 

Ezekiel 39:9-15  And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:  (10)  So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.  (11)  And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.  (12)  And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.  (13)  Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.  (14)  And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.  (15)  And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.

 

J.  Revelation 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

 

Satan, finally home!  God will fulfill His promise that He made to Lucifer.

 

Ezekiel 28:15-19  Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.  (16)  By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.  (17)  Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.  (18)  Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.  (19)  All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.