Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001949S
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00:02 I'm John Carter in Moscow.
00:04 In Havana, Cuba. 00:07 Now in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. 00:10 I'm John Carter in Petra. 00:13 Right here in Communist China. 00:16 Reporting from India. 00:18 Hi, I'm John Carter in the Solomon Islands. 00:21 I'm John Carter in Soweto. 00:24 From El Salvador. 00:26 I'm John Carter in Sydney, Australia. 00:30 And now Pastor John Carter gives us 00:32 a look into the future. 00:37 We give you a terrific welcome today 00:39 to the Carter Report. 00:42 We're going to have today, 00:44 a prophetic look into the future. 00:49 Did you know this? 00:51 Every person who's ever lived 00:53 in the history of the world is going to live again. 00:58 Amazing concept. 00:59 Some people say, when I die, hey, that's the end of me. 01:03 No, no. 01:04 The Word of God teaches that 01:06 every person is going to live again. 01:10 And the Bible also teaches that God 01:12 one day is going to have a brand new, 01:15 wonderful, perfect world. 01:18 We're going to talk about that today. 01:20 Our topic today is the millennium. 01:24 Now, the word millennium is not found in the Bible. 01:27 It comes from, comes from the Latin. 01:31 I'm sure most of you folks know this. 01:32 The word's not found in the Bible, millennium. 01:35 But millie is the Latin word for 1,000. 01:39 And annus means a year. 01:41 So the word millennium simply means 1,000 years. 01:47 The Bible says that the devil is bound 01:49 with a great chain in the bottomless pit 01:53 for 1,000 years. 01:54 Let me just say a little bit about Latin. 01:59 Latin was the language of the ancient Romans, 02:02 and what a great language. 02:04 And the language of the Roman Catholic Church 02:08 who got it from the Romans. 02:11 A Latino is one who uses a language 02:14 derived from the Latin, for instance, 02:19 the Italians and the Spanish, and the Portuguese, 02:24 and especially Central and South America, 02:27 all Roman Catholic countries, 02:29 they got it, of course, from the Roman Catholic Church, 02:32 and they got it from the Romans. 02:34 Also Latin to a lesser extent contributed 02:38 to the English language. 02:40 So English people are not really Latinos. 02:45 But some of their words come from the Latin. 02:48 I want you to take your Bibles, please. 02:50 And we're going to use this book a great deal today, 02:53 because we believe the power is in the Word of God. 02:57 Would you come to Revelation Chapter 20? 02:59 And this is the chapter, 03:00 there's a whole Chapter in the Bible on the millennium. 03:05 Revelation 20:1-2. 03:10 Have you folks got it? 03:11 I want you to turn it up in the scriptures. 03:14 "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, 03:17 having the key to the bottomless pit," 03:19 that's the abussos, this place of desolation, 03:23 "A great chain in his hand, he laid hold of the dragon, 03:27 that serpent of old who is the Devil, and Satan, 03:31 bound him for a thousand years." 03:35 So let's just have a little look at this. 03:37 And we're going to put this up on the screen. 03:40 We've got a time period of 1,000 years. 03:44 And the Bible tells us that during the 1,000 years 03:48 that the devil is bound, 03:51 and he's thrown into the bottomless pit. 03:54 Now the next verse, 03:56 then we're going to have the diagram, 03:57 Verse 3, Revelation 20:3, " 04:02 And he cast him into the bottomless pit, 04:05 and shut him up and set a seal on him, 04:08 so that he should deceive nations no more 04:13 till the thousand years were finished. 04:15 And after these things, 04:17 he must be released for a little while." 04:22 Now, I just want you to see it on the screen. 04:26 The Bible tells us that you got this time period it's, 04:29 it's 1,000 years. 04:32 And after the 1,000 years, the Bible says, Satan, 04:35 who has been bound 04:37 with a tremendous chain is released. 04:42 And the Bible tells us that he's bound 04:44 and he's cast into the bottomless pit. 04:50 This is one of the most amazing truths 04:52 that you're ever going to hear in your life. 04:55 Let's ask this question before we go any farther today. 04:59 Is Satan a real person? 05:03 I can understand cynics saying, 05:05 we don't believe in the devil because you Christians 05:07 believe that he's sort of a demon being, 05:10 and he's got horns and he's got a spike tail 05:15 and all of this stuff. 05:16 Well, of course, the Bible doesn't teach this. 05:20 The Bible teaches that Satan or the Devil is a fallen angel. 05:25 And he's a person of extraordinary capability, 05:30 a person of immense beauty. 05:35 The most charming person you could ever meet 05:37 would be Lucifer, this fallen angel. 05:42 Now in some of my lectures you heard, 05:43 when I talk on astronomy, 05:46 and I love the story of astronomy, 05:49 but scientists know about dark matter and dark energy. 05:54 To this point of time, nobody knows what it is. 05:59 When you look out into the universe, 06:00 when you see the pictures of the galaxies and the stars, 06:04 the trillions and trillions of blazing suns, 06:09 and the billions and billions of vast galaxies, 06:13 that is less than 5% of what is really there, 06:18 because most of what is really there cannot be seen. 06:24 Nobody knows to this point in time, 06:26 maybe they'll discover it one day, 06:28 but to this point in time, 06:29 nobody has got a clue what this dark matter is, 06:33 all the dark energy that actually drives 06:36 the expansion of the universe, 06:38 that makes life on earth possible. 06:40 But there is a substance that cannot be seen. 06:44 We noticed it, but we cannot analyze it, 06:47 we cannot touch it, and we cannot see it. 06:52 To me, at least it makes the idea of a being 06:55 who we cannot see and who exists 06:59 in another realm exceedingly possible. 07:03 And so here you have a being who is a fallen angel 07:07 with an immense brain, 07:12 not a brain such as we have but tremendous intelligence, 07:15 and he is a spirit being, 07:19 and he is the originator of everything evil in the world 07:23 and in the universe. 07:25 Listen carefully. 07:27 Revelation 20 describes the fate of the human race. 07:30 So I'm interested in this. 07:32 What's going to happen to the human race? 07:34 It talks about two resurrections, 07:37 this is astounding, 07:38 because the Bible teaches 07:40 that every person is going to live again. 07:44 And if you and I never meet again, 07:47 one day we're going to meet again, 07:49 because there are two resurrections. 07:52 There's a resurrection for the righteous 07:54 and there's a resurrection for the wicked in the world 07:59 and the Bible teaches that one day there's going to be 08:02 a tremendous battle, 08:04 the greatest battle in the history of the universe. 08:07 And every person who has ever lived, 08:09 every person who has breathed 08:11 God's beautiful oxygen 08:15 is going to live again. 08:18 And at the end of everything, 08:20 God is going to create a brand new cosmos. 08:25 Now the question is, 08:27 when does this 1,000 year period, 08:29 when does the millennium take place? 08:31 Look at Revelation 20:4-5, 08:35 dear hearts and gentle people. 08:38 Revelation 20:4-5, "And I saw thrones, 08:42 and they sat on them, 08:44 judgment was committed to them." 08:45 So these are the saints. These are God's people. 08:48 "Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded 08:51 for their witnessed to Jesus and for the Word of God." 08:56 So we're talking here about the good people, the saints. 09:00 "Who would not worship the beast or his image, 09:03 and had not received his mark 09:05 on their foreheads or on their hands." 09:07 Then it says, "And they lived," hey, look at me. 09:11 These are people who died. 09:13 These are people who were put to death. 09:16 And they lived, in other words, they were resurrected. 09:18 Other translations say, they came to life again. 09:22 And so you've got here all the saints of God, 09:25 who were put to death, and it says, 09:27 "And they lived, and they reigned with Christ 09:30 for a thousand years." 09:32 But notice this now, this is tremendously important, 09:34 "But the rest of the dead." 09:38 Who would the rest of the dead be? 09:41 The righteous are raised and they reign was Christ 09:43 for 1,000 years, 09:44 but the rest of the dead, still wicked. 09:48 The wicked lived not again, "they did not live 09:52 until the 1,000 years were finished," 09:54 and then going back it says, 09:56 "This is the first resurrection." 10:00 So, if we can establish this truth, 10:03 everything starts to get plain. 10:05 If you can get this, if we can get this down 10:08 into the molecules of our minds, 10:11 this great time period of the 1,000 years 10:14 starts with a resurrection. 10:18 And it closes with a resurrection. 10:23 If you remember nothing else, remember this. 10:27 The millennium starts with a resurrection. 10:30 And it closes with a resurrection. 10:33 And the resurrection that it closes 10:36 with is the resurrection of the wicked. 10:40 But it starts with a resurrection. 10:42 And the Bible says, blessed and holy, 10:45 it starts with the resurrection of the saved. 10:51 Look, please at verse 6. 10:54 This is plain, verse 6 says, "Blessed and holy 11:00 is he who has part in the first resurrection." 11:04 I want to be in the first resurrection. 11:06 What about you? 11:08 "Blessed and holy is he who is part 11:11 in the first resurrection. 11:13 Over such the second death has no power." 11:17 So some people are going to die twice. 11:20 The Bible teaches, unless we are born twice, 11:23 we are going to die twice. 11:26 The Bible says over 11:27 such the second death has no power, 11:30 but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, 11:33 and they shall reign with Him for a thousand years." 11:39 Now listen, please, stay with me. 11:44 The Bible teaches that this great time period 11:48 when Satan is thrown into the bottomless pit, 11:52 it commences with the resurrection 11:56 of the righteous and it closes 11:59 with the resurrection of the wicked. 12:03 Everybody watching on television, 12:05 I've got news for you. 12:08 As I've got news for the people sitting here 12:10 in our studio in Southern California, 12:13 if we don't come up in this resurrection, 12:17 we are going to come up in this resurrection. 12:21 Because the Bible teaches that every person 12:25 who has ever lived is going to be raised. 12:29 Nobody can escape the resurrection 12:32 because we have an appointment. 12:37 Let me give you just a little aside. 12:41 Why I believe in the resurrection. 12:45 I believe in life everlasting. 12:48 I believe in the resurrection. 12:50 Why do I believe in the resurrection? 12:52 I believe in the resurrection, 12:54 because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. 12:58 I heard a young man, 12:59 a young pastor asked the question, 13:01 why do you believe in the resurrection? 13:03 He was at a great youth Congress 13:05 here in the United States of America. 13:06 There must have been 20,000 youth leaders, 13:09 and they had him up the front. 13:10 He was their leader. 13:12 Why do you believe in the resurrection? 13:13 He said, I believe in the resurrection 13:16 because of my faith." 13:23 When a person says that, 13:26 it is little wonder that skeptics laugh at us. 13:31 I don't believe in the resurrection, 13:34 because of blind faith. 13:36 I believe in the resurrection because it happened. 13:43 I believe that faith 13:46 must rest on evidence, you see, 13:51 I do not believe in a blind faith. 13:53 If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, 13:56 I would not believe it, you see. 14:02 Let me give you some evidence. 14:04 The resurrection of Christ is recorded 14:06 in genuine historical documents. 14:09 How many? 14:11 Hundreds, hundreds, hundreds, hundreds. 14:15 Documents written in the Greek language, 14:17 written by many, many people 14:19 who testified that 14:21 they saw Christ rise from the dead. 14:26 And here's the second piece of evidence, 14:28 I can give you much more but we don't have time. 14:32 There was no dead body of Christ ever found. 14:35 I want you to think about this. 14:37 Whatever happened to the body of Christ, Christ was dead. 14:41 He was cold. 14:42 He was limp. 14:44 He'd been crucified and Christ, 14:47 the Bible says, was stone cold dead. 14:53 And then a little later, 14:57 there was no dead body of Christ found, 15:00 whatever happened to it? 15:03 Well, the rumor was that the disciples had come 15:05 and got the body 15:06 and had stolen the body of Christ. 15:08 I can't buy it. 15:11 How could a dozen dispirited broken men 15:16 and a few women storm the tomb 15:20 that was guarded by a bunch of Roman soldiers. 15:23 Can't believe that. 15:27 Others have said, "Well, if the disciples 15:29 didn't get the body of Christ, 15:31 then the Jews got the body of Christ." 15:38 Then why didn't they produce it? 15:43 When the apostles started 15:45 to preach the resurrection of Christ, 15:47 the best way to destroy the church was to say, well, 15:52 look at this, the dead body of Christ. 15:58 So I can't buy this. 16:00 And then the third possibility is that the Romans 16:04 got the body of Christ somehow, 16:07 but they wanted the Christian church 16:09 destroyed as much as the Jewish people. 16:14 And the best way to destroy the Christian church 16:19 and the faith that burns in our hearts today is to say, 16:22 here is the dead body of Christ. 16:27 But no dead body of Christ was produced. 16:30 You know why? 16:31 Because there was no dead body, 16:33 the body had been raised from the dead. 16:36 You see. 16:38 So I believe in the resurrection of Christ, 16:41 not because of blind faith, as my young friend said, 16:45 I believe in the resurrection of Christ, 16:48 because it happened. 16:49 It is an historical fact. 16:53 Some years ago, firstly in 1971, 16:56 as a young man, I went to Moscow. 17:00 And saw the body of Lenin. 17:04 I went into the mausoleum 17:06 and joined a big crowd of Russians, 17:09 saw him there, cold, dead and waxy. 17:14 I went back in 1991, when communism was collapsing. 17:19 And there he was, again. 17:22 It was my privilege later on 17:24 to speak to literally millions of Russians. 17:27 And I told them this. 17:29 The church is alive today in Russia, 17:32 because the church is built upon a living Christ. 17:37 But communism has collapsed in Russia, 17:40 in the old Soviet Union, 17:42 because it was built 17:44 upon a dead man, you see. 17:49 So on the basis of the evidence, 17:51 not on the basis of warm, fuzzy feelings, 17:54 I believe in the resurrection. 17:58 So come back with me to the topic of today, 18:01 the millennium. 18:04 We are told that the millennium starts with a resurrection. 18:10 The Bible tells us 18:11 it is the resurrection of the righteous. 18:14 Are you with me? Am I making this plain? 18:17 Well come with me now 18:18 to 1 Thessalonians 4:16, my friends. 18:24 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 18:28 and the Apostle Paul says, 18:31 "For the Lord Himself will descend 18:33 from heaven with a shout, 18:35 with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. 18:40 And the dead in Christ will rise first." 18:45 The righteous are raised 18:48 when Jesus returns. 18:52 And so when Jesus comes back in glory 18:56 and fiery splendor, 18:58 the Bible tells us that the righteous, 19:01 all the saints are raised. 19:04 If this is so, then the millennium 19:08 that commences 19:09 with the resurrection of the righteous 19:11 that takes place at the Second Coming. 19:14 The millennium takes place when Jesus returns. 19:19 So there it is. 19:22 It hasn't started yet. 19:24 But the millennium commences when Christ returns. 19:29 Come over here with me please 19:30 to Revelation 20:5-6, 19:35 dear hearts and gentle people. 19:37 Revelation 20:5-6, "But the rest of the dead, 19:42 the wicked did not live again 19:44 until the thousand years were finished," 19:46 then our parenthesis. 19:48 "This is the first resurrection." 19:50 Then it says 6th verse "Blessed and holy 19:53 is He who has part in the first resurrection. 19:58 Over such the second death has no power, 20:01 but they shall be priests of God 20:02 and of Christ 20:04 and they shall reign with Him a thousand years." 20:08 Listen, my friend. 20:11 I say it again, and every person 20:12 here needs to listen up. 20:16 If we don't come up 20:17 in the resurrection of the righteous, 20:19 we are going to come up 20:21 in the resurrection of the wicked. 20:24 And we can say, I just don't, I just don't. 20:27 It doesn't matter whether we believe it or not. 20:31 This is the Word of God. 20:36 Many years ago in Germany was a famous atheist. 20:41 When he died, because of his hatred to God 20:44 and because he wouldn't believe in the afterlife. 20:47 He said, when I die, I die and even God Almighty 20:51 will not get me out of this tomb. 20:56 When he died 20:59 a little acorn fell somehow into the tomb. 21:04 And water got into the tomb 21:08 and it started to grow. 21:09 And if you go to that tomb today, 21:12 the tomb has been burst asunder, 21:15 as every tomb in this world, 21:17 one day is going to break asunder, you see. 21:23 And so there are two resurrections 21:25 and if you don't come up in one, 21:27 you are certainly going to come up 21:31 in the next one, the second one, 21:32 and they are 1,000 years apart. 21:35 And during the millennium, 21:37 the devil is cast into 21:40 that bottomless pit. 21:44 Now, notice with me please, 21:45 the events during the millennium. 21:48 We've noticed the events at the start of the millennium, 21:51 now during the millennium. 21:53 Come with me 21:55 to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. 22:00 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 22:08 The Word of the Lord. 22:09 "For the Lord Himself will descend 22:12 from heaven with a shout," this is our Lord's return. 22:16 "With the voice of an archangel," loud, 22:20 "and with the trumpet of God, 22:22 and the dead in Christ will rise first." 22:25 That's the first resurrection," 22:27 Then we who are alive and remain," 22:30 the living saints, 22:32 "shall be caught up together 22:33 with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, 22:38 and that's we shall always be with the Lord." 22:42 The Bible tells me that 22:44 the sleeping saints are resurrected. 22:48 And the Bible teaches that 22:49 the living saints are translated, 22:52 and they're caught up to glory, 22:54 and they go to be with Christ 22:57 for 1,000 years. 23:01 Now I don't know about you, 23:04 but sometimes I get very tired of this old world. 23:08 But one day, my friend, 23:10 I'm going to be with Jesus in paradise. 23:14 You see, we're going home one day to glory. 23:17 And the Bible teaches that during the millennium, 23:20 listen to this, during the millennium, 23:23 the wicked remain on this earth as corpses. 23:29 Look at Revelation 20:5, 23:33 dear hearts and gentle people, 23:35 Revelation 20:5, "But the rest of the dead," 23:39 that's the wicked, "did not live again 23:41 until the thousand years were finished." 23:45 And then if you come to the Old Testament, 23:46 please come over here to the Book of Jeremiah, 23:50 Jeremiah 25:32-33, 23:55 Jeremiah 25:32-33, 24:01 and I'm reading it out of the scriptures, 24:04 the Bible says, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, 24:09 'Behold disaster shall go forth from nation to nation, 24:13 and a great whirlwind shall be raised up 24:15 from the farthest parts of the earth.' 24:17 And at that day the slain of the Lord shall be 24:20 from one end of the earth, 24:22 even to the other end of the earth. 24:25 They shall not be lamented or gathered or buried, 24:28 they shall become refuse on the ground." 24:31 Would you like to know why nobody buries them? 24:35 Because nobody is on the earth who's alive, 24:38 except the devil and his evil angels, 24:41 because the saints had been taken home to glory. 24:46 Would you come now to 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, 24:50 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, 24:55 my dear friends, "And to give you 24:57 who are troubled rest with us 24:58 when the Lord Jesus is revealed 25:01 from heaven with His mighty angels," 25:04 glory, "In flaming fire taking vengeance on those 25:08 who do not know God, 25:09 and those who do not obey 25:12 the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, 25:14 they shall be punished," the Bible says, 25:16 "With everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, 25:20 and from the glory of His power." 25:22 Now listen to me. 25:24 When Jesus comes back, 25:25 He comes back as King of kings and Lord of lords. 25:31 He doesn't come back as gentle Jesus, weak and mild. 25:35 He comes back as King of kings, 25:38 Lord of lords, the King of the universe. 25:42 And when He comes back with all His power, 25:45 He raises His saints 25:49 and He takes them home to glory. 25:51 It does make a difference. 25:55 The Bible tells me that 25:56 the wicked are destroyed and remain on this earth. 26:02 The question is you've got to ask, 26:05 where do I plan to spend the millennium? 26:08 And there'll be more coming up soon. 26:26 Time. 26:27 It takes only a minute to have eternal life. 26:30 How can you get saved in a minute? 26:31 It's simple. 26:33 First believe that Jesus was the Son of God. 26:35 Second, accept His free gift of eternal life, 26:38 and then you're saved. 26:40 It's not hard. 26:42 It doesn't take any time. 26:43 You can be saved in a minute right now. 26:46 Pray with me, Lord God, I realize that I am a sinner. 26:50 My sin has separated me from You. 26:53 I accept that Your son Jesus Christ died for me. 26:56 I asked Jesus into my heart. 26:58 If you prayed this prayer, you are saved. 27:01 The next thing to do is tell someone, 27:03 fellowship with other followers of Jesus. 27:06 Get baptized. 27:07 Read your Bible and pray. 27:10 Choices. 27:11 We make them every day, all day. 27:13 The most important choice you will make in your life 27:16 is whether to choose eternal life 27:18 or let it pass you by. 27:20 If you'd like more information about your new life, 27:22 call the number and visit our website. 27:30 The Antichrist is in the temple of God. 27:35 I will read you the actual words 27:38 of the great Roman Catholic Church. 27:42 More than a billion people pray to the dead. 27:48 But the Bible talks very plainly about 27:50 good angels and bad angels. 27:56 Why on earth were you and I born? 28:04 This DVD series from John Carter 28:06 will be yours with a gift 28:07 of $50 US or $70 Australian. 28:10 Write to us at the address on the screen. 28:12 Visit, carterreport.org. 28:14 Your home for inspirational teaching. 28:30 For a copy of today's program, please contact us at 28:34 P.O. 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Revised 2020-03-16