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In this episode, Pastor Ted Wilson talks about the millennium and the end of sin, the subject of the twenty-seventh fundamental belief of the Seventh-day Adventists.

With the tragedies, wars, disasters, and other sufferings happening around us, will there be an end?

The Bible says that Christ will come again to take His children to heaven, bringing an end to earthly suffering and sorrow.

After the second coming, there will be a 1000-year period called the millennium in which all believers will live in heaven. After this time, Satan and sin will be destroyed forever and the earth will be made new.

The Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief #27 explains: “The millennium is the thousand-year reign of Christ with His saints in heaven between the first and second resurrections. During this time, the wicked dead will be judged; the earth will be utterly desolate, without living human inhabitants but occupied by Satan and his angels. At its close, Christ with His saints and the Holy City will descend from heaven to earth. The unrighteous dead will then be resurrected, and with Satan and his angels will surround the city; but fire from God will consume them and cleanse the earth. The universe will thus be freed of sin and sinners forever.”

“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things, he must be released for a little while” (Revelation 20:1-3).

This millennium takes place between the first and second resurrections—the resurrection of the righteous and the resurrection of the wicked. It begins with Satan, along with his angels, being locked up in a pit so he might not deceive the nations again.

Where is this pit? Though the Bible doesn’t state it specifically, we can infer that this pit refers to the earth after the resurrection of the saints.

By this time, all the righteous have already been taken to heaven to live with Christ, and the wicked are still sleeping in their graves. So, there is no one for Satan to deceive.

Meanwhile, the believers will reign with Christ in heaven for a thousand years. That is, they will go through the records God has been keeping since the earth began.

Now, what will Satan and his angels be doing during the millennium? The Bible says they will be stuck on earth with no one to deceive.

And how will sin end? “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison  and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:7-10).

When God returns to cleanse the earth, the second resurrection, or the resurrection of the wicked, begins. Those who rebelled against God, refused Him, and sided with Satan, will be resurrected to be judged.

As Satan sees them, he tries one final deception, urging them to turn and attack the Holy City, claiming they can conquer and take it as their own. But fire falls from heaven and burns them up. Then, Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where he will be burned and destroyed forever.

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.  Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ Then He Who sat on the throne said, ’Behold, I make all things new’” (Revelation 21:1-5).

What a beautiful promise that Jesus will come back again and make things new!

Learn more about the millennium and the end of sin at www.adventist.org/millennium-and-the-end-of-sin/

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/belief-27-the-millennium-and-the-end-of-sin-what-will-happen-pastor-ted-wilson/

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In this episode, Pastor Ted Wilson talks about death and the promise of the resurrection, the subject of the twenty-sixth fundamental belief of the Seventh-day Adventists.

One of the most painful and devastating losses we can ever experience is the loss of a loved one. While grief may lessen over time, the memory of that special person stays with us.

But we have an amazing hope of seeing our loved ones again. Jesus said in John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” This promise assures us that death is not the end of everything. In Him, there is eternal life.

When does eternity begin?

1 Timothy 6:16 tells us that God “alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light.” In contrast, humans are mortal beings. Genesis 2:7 says, “God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being,” or in other translations, “living soul.” To be a living soul, one must have the breath of life and a body.

When God created Adam and Eve, He gave them free will, the power of choice. They could obey or disobey Him. But if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would “surely die” (Genesis 2:17).

Unfortunately, Satan contradicted God’s warning, tempting Eve, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). But after they sinned, Adam and Eve discovered that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). They would “return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19).

The Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief #26 states: “The wages of sin is death. But God, Who alone is immortal, will grant eternal life to His redeemed. Until that day, death is an unconscious state for all people. When Christ, Who is our life, appears, the resurrected righteous and the living righteous will be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord. The second resurrection, the resurrection of the unrighteous, will take place a thousand years later.”

Death is an unconscious state, a deep sleep from which a person awaits the resurrection. “For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing” (Ecclesiastes 9:5). “The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence” (Psalm 115:17).

Daniel also spoke of death as a sleep, saying, “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2).

Jesus echoed this concept of death. Referring to Lazarus, He said to His disciples, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up” (John 11:11). At the same time, He was referring to His own resurrection that would happen soon.

Since death is a sleep, there is resurrection. This is possible through Christ’s death and resurrection. “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty” (1 Corinthians 15:13, 14).

“But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man,” that is, Jesus, “also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (verses 20-22).

In addition, Ellen White says in Heaven, page 35: “Amid the reeling of the earth, the flashing of lightning, and the roaring of thunder, the voice of the Son of God calls forth the sleeping saints. He looks upon the graves of the righteous, then raising His hands to heaven, He cries, ‘Awake, awake, awake, ye that sleep in the dust, and arise!’ Throughout the length and breadth of the earth, the dead shall hear that voice, and they that hear shall live.”

Because Jesus lives, we may live also. But as we’ve learned from Daniel 12:2 earlier, some will be raised to “shame and everlasting contempt.” This refers to the second resurrection, in which those who have rejected Christ as their Savior will be resurrected for their final judgment and destruction, which we will discuss in the next episode.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

What a great assurance that Jesus is coming and that He has the power over death!

Learn more about death and resurrection at www.adventist.org/death-and-resurrection.

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/belief-26-death-and-resurrection-what-hope-do-we-have-pastor-ted-wilson/