Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

Yesterday we tried to describe the great city, the Holy Jerusalem that John saw come down out of heaven from God. As we said, it is beautiful beyond description. Edith and I were on our way home last evening, coming back from a doctor’s appointment in Roanoke. It had been raining and just before sunset the sun came through the clouds in the west and we begin to see the most beautiful rainbow ever,...

Here in Revelation 21, John is shown the “great city, the holy Jerusalem, come down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God”. John does not just see “a city” but he saw “the city”. This is city is also called “the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”  This city is beautiful beyond description and is the dwelling place for all of eternity for all of God’s people. In this city, saints of the Old Co...

Here in Revelation 21, John is shown the “great city, the holy Jerusalem, come down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. John is not just see “a city” but he saw “the city”. This is city is also called “the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”  This city is the permanent dwelling place for all of eternity for all of God’s people. The city's description follows the pattern of cities with which...

For several days now we have been talking about the citizens of heaven in the first verses of Revelation 21. We first saw who they are. They are the “people of God”. God claims them as His own! According to John 1:12-13, this happens for you and me the moment we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and are born into His family. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to beco...

John concludes his overview of the new heaven and the new earth with a serious and solemn warning. He reminds us of those who will be excluded from any participation in the blessings of heaven—all unforgiven and unredeemed sinners. There are similar lists of such sinners in 22:15; Romans 1:28-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; and 2 Timothy 3:2-5. The first group excluded from heaven are...

Today, Friday August 26 Celebrating 50th Wedding Anniversary Matthew 19:4-6 “And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has j...

When we start talking about heaven and what a fantastic place that it is, it might be hard for some to believe that we not just making up some mythical place that is only a figment of our imagination. John must have realize that as he is writing these verses. We are born into a world of suffering, pain, sorrow, tears and death. From start to finish, life is a battle for every human being. The mome...

There are so many wonderful things about heaven that hundreds of books have been written about this subject. I can’t imagine the thousands of messages that have been preached on heaven over the centuries. The main thought at every funeral for a believer is about heaven. And some of the greatest and most encouraging verses in the Bible about heaven are found right here in Revelation 21-22. Today, I...

We all like to have something that is new! There is something special about “new” things. I find it very encouraging to come to last two chapters of the Bible and they are about a new heaven and a new earth. We need to remember that John is writing to the saints who have been suffering tremendous persecution in the Roman Empire. They no doubt have faced discouragement and great sorrow as many fami...

Today, Monday August 22 Beyond Description Revelation 21:1-5 “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...

I wanted to pick up where we left off yesterday with Peter’s comments about the promises concerning the coming of Christ and the end of this age. Remember Peter was writing this from a prison in Rome where he was about to be martyred for his faith in Christ (2 Peter 1:14). It was a dismal time for the world and for believers especially. As far as the world was concerned, they had nothing to look f...

Yesterday, someone in their comments under our Pastor’s Chat post, reminded us of 1 Corinthians 2:9, “But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." When I read and think about this verse, I also think about what the Lord Jesus told His disciples in John 14:1-3, "Let not your heart be trouble...

“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 peop...

"Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End." Revelation 20 ends with a detailed description of the Great White Throne Judgment of all the unsaved, the dead, of all the ages of humanity, as they meet their final doom in...

"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." Revelation chapters 19-20 give us a good idea of what will happen at the v...

I believe that when we read Revelation 20:11-15, we read some of the most solemn and sobering verses in the Bible. This passage makes it very clear that there will be a final judgment for sinners. We often get upset because it seems that corrupt and evil people are getting by with their sins.  The Psalmist wrote about this in Psalm 73:2-19 “But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps...

God knows what sinners are doing, and His books will reveal the truth. Proverbs 5:21 tells us: “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ponders all his paths.” God’s eternal eyes see everything! One of the names of God in the Old Testament is El Roi, “The God Who sees you” (Genesis 16:13). People break the law because they think they can get by with it. That no one sees them. T...

John said he “saw the dead” at this judgment. He says that these dead included everyone that lived and died without Jesus Christ and it didn’t matter if they were rich or poor or if they were a king or a poor laborer. There was no place in heaven or earth left for them to hide from this judgment. We need to remember that the scripture teaches that every person born into the human race is born a si...

The Apostle John is given a “Revelation” of end time events that are very specific! He gives more details of these event than any of the other Old or New Testament writers. He sees and writes about exactly what is going to happen when we come to very end of the church age, the Tribulation, the Millennium, the final revolt of Satan, and the final judgment of the dead at the “Great White Throne”. At...

For several days now we have been studying Revelation 20 and talking about the Millennium reign of Jesus Christ. Today we will move on to the next few verses that tell us about the final revolt of Satan. The main lesson that we can learn from this passage is, that a perfect environment does not produce a perfect man with a perfect heart! Remember at the beginning of this chapter Satan was bound wi...

We are studying Revelation 20 and talking about the Millennium reign of Jesus Christ. Did you notice that the majority of the Book of Revelation is about the judgments of God upon the earth during the seven-year Tribulation?  In chapters 4 and 5 we have two worship scenes described in heaven.  Beginning in chapter 6 and going all the way through chapter 19 we are told about the sealed ju...

Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years . ” We are studying Revelation 20 and talking about the Millennium reign of Jesus Christ. Today we want to continue to discuss and explore the nature and the character of the Kingdom. When you specifically...

Paul told Timothy that in the “last days”, just before the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, would be a time of peril. “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, trait...

We are studying Revelation 20 and talking about the Millennium reign of Jesus Christ. Today we want to talk about nature and the character of the Kingdom. The Scriptures give us some very specific details about what it will be like during this thousand year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth. In Isaiah 32:1 we read : “Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, And princes will rule with justice.”...

We are studying Revelation 20 and talking about the Millennium reign of Jesus Christ. When you read the Bible from cover to cover you will realize that it is really all about the Kingdom! Both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ came preaching about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus sent His original twelve disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven: “And as you go, preach, saying,...