Before flying to Poland, the preacher sat with two dying men from his own church. Both asked the same question: what happens right after I die? The answer comes as a picture of a bound Satan (Revelation 20), stripped of his chief tool, deception, because the victory does not wait for the end of time but happened at the cross. The thousand years in this chapter measure no span of time; they describe the life a believer already has. Listen if you want a ready answer to that question before somebody asks it of you at a hospital bed.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- In Revelation 20:1-6 John describes Satan being bound and a thousand year reign with Christ. How does the speaker explain these images, and what might they have meant to the persecuted churches of that time?
- At Lazarus's tomb Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life." How do these words connect with the promise of reigning with Christ in Revelation 20?
- The speaker stresses that the devil's main weapon has always been lies and deception, as in the Garden of Eden. Which lies about God or about yourself do you find easiest to believe today?
- The victory over evil has already been won on the cross, much as we now know how the war of 1939-1945 ended. How does knowing the outcome change the way you face hardship?
- Jesus asks Martha, "Do you believe this?" What is your honest answer to that question when you think about your own death or the death of loved ones?
- Paul ends 1 Thessalonians 4 with "Therefore encourage one another with these words." Who could you share the hope of the resurrection with this week, and how will you do it?
