WEBVTT 00:00:03.260 --> 00:00:11.980 from Palestine. Another pastor and I are tentatively 00:00:11.980 --> 00:00:15.220 planning to lead a tour to the Holy Land in the 00:00:15.220 --> 00:00:19.160 spring of 1989. If the Lord doesn't come before 00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:23.239 then, and I hope He does, but looking forward 00:00:23.239 --> 00:00:29.239 to that opportunity to see once again those places 00:00:29.239 --> 00:00:32.310 which we have all read and studied. all of our 00:00:32.310 --> 00:00:36.969 lives. Tonight we're going to open our Bibles 00:00:36.969 --> 00:00:40.429 to the book of the Revelation and the 19th chapter. 00:00:42.189 --> 00:00:47.770 Our world is on a collision course with the judgment 00:00:47.770 --> 00:00:56.189 of God. There is a sense in the hearts of many, 00:00:56.189 --> 00:01:03.259 many people that the world cannot go on as it 00:01:03.259 --> 00:01:13.340 is now. That is true morally. It is true economically. 00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:22.900 It is true agriculturally. It is true socially. 00:01:24.819 --> 00:01:31.079 Our world is running out of time. Kenny King 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:33.260 and I were chatting before this service tonight, 00:01:33.340 --> 00:01:35.140 and he made the statement, and I fully agree 00:01:35.140 --> 00:01:39.260 with him, that the hour is much later than most 00:01:39.260 --> 00:01:45.980 of us realize. The end of the age is quickly, 00:01:46.140 --> 00:01:53.299 quickly coming upon us. The Bible predicted centuries 00:01:53.299 --> 00:01:56.200 ago many of those things that are taking place 00:01:56.200 --> 00:02:02.099 in our day. Do you realize how much the Bible 00:02:02.099 --> 00:02:04.920 says regarding this truth that we begin studying 00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:10.919 tonight in the coming kingdom? In the Old Testament, 00:02:11.080 --> 00:02:15.379 there are eight verses to one that speak of the 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:19.139 second coming of Christ as compared to His first 00:02:19.139 --> 00:02:25.060 coming. Eight times as many verses speak to Christ's 00:02:25.060 --> 00:02:28.099 return to the earth and the establishment of 00:02:28.099 --> 00:02:31.840 His kingdom. as speak to his coming at Bethlehem 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:35.939 and his work on the cross. In the New Testament, 00:02:36.039 --> 00:02:40.159 one out of every 25 verses deals with the theme 00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:44.960 of the second coming of Jesus Christ. And so 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:47.780 as we come to this topic, we are not coming to 00:02:47.780 --> 00:02:52.219 a topic that is strange to the Bible or that's 00:02:52.219 --> 00:02:55.759 difficult to find in the Bible. It's everywhere, 00:02:55.979 --> 00:03:01.159 woven into the fabric of the Word of God. Our 00:03:01.159 --> 00:03:04.039 theme in this mini -series will be the coming 00:03:04.039 --> 00:03:09.900 kingdom. Tonight we want to look at the return 00:03:09.900 --> 00:03:13.900 of the King. The next time, the Lord willing, 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:18.379 we will look at the retribution of the King and 00:03:18.379 --> 00:03:21.560 then beyond that the reign of the King. But tonight 00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:26.039 the return of the King. There are several false 00:03:26.039 --> 00:03:28.879 teachings about Jesus coming again that I want 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:32.000 to mention briefly, because occasionally you'll 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:34.680 pick up a book that mentions one of these ideas 00:03:34.680 --> 00:03:38.460 as the fulfillment of His second coming. There 00:03:38.460 --> 00:03:41.960 are those who teach that Jesus comes again at 00:03:41.960 --> 00:03:46.139 death, that that is the fulfillment of His second 00:03:46.139 --> 00:03:50.139 coming. Now it is a blessed truth that when we 00:03:50.139 --> 00:03:53.460 die we go to be with the Lord. To be absent from 00:03:53.460 --> 00:03:58.039 the body is to be present with Him. And there 00:03:58.039 --> 00:04:01.599 may be some sense in which our Lord comes to 00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:04.319 receive the believer at that moment of death. 00:04:05.379 --> 00:04:08.719 I shared with you some time ago the story that 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:12.020 Hugo Hegstrom, one of our members, shared with 00:04:12.020 --> 00:04:15.939 me about his mother, and how that on her deathbed, 00:04:16.339 --> 00:04:19.600 as she was dying, she suddenly regained strength. 00:04:19.870 --> 00:04:22.870 and sat up in bed and said, the Lord is coming, 00:04:22.970 --> 00:04:27.589 the Lord is coming, and then slumped and was 00:04:27.589 --> 00:04:31.910 gone. So there may be some truth in that, that 00:04:31.910 --> 00:04:34.870 the Lord comes to receive his own to himself 00:04:34.870 --> 00:04:38.089 at the moment of death. D .L. Moody said, earth 00:04:38.089 --> 00:04:45.290 recedes, heaven opens, God calls. And with that, 00:04:45.670 --> 00:04:49.310 he entered the Lord's presence. As wonderful 00:04:49.310 --> 00:04:51.949 as that truth is, it does not fulfill, however, 00:04:52.050 --> 00:04:55.810 the promise of Christ's return to earth. There 00:04:55.810 --> 00:04:58.529 are several contrasts between death and Christ's 00:04:58.529 --> 00:05:02.529 return. Death, for example, is called the last 00:05:02.529 --> 00:05:06.490 enemy, the last enemy that shall be destroyed 00:05:06.490 --> 00:05:11.850 or abolished. Heaven, His return, is called the 00:05:11.850 --> 00:05:18.480 blessed hope. That's a contrast. such that it 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:21.980 leaves the body in the grave. But the return 00:05:21.980 --> 00:05:25.240 of Jesus Christ will see the body raised from 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:27.720 the grave. There's a contrast between the two. 00:05:29.259 --> 00:05:31.879 At death, the spirit goes to be with Christ. 00:05:32.519 --> 00:05:35.360 But at his return, he comes for the believer, 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:39.480 to take the believer home. And so we do not accept 00:05:39.480 --> 00:05:41.920 the teaching that says that the return of Jesus 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:45.600 Christ is fulfilled in his coming for the believer 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:48.800 at the moment of death. And then there are those 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:51.300 who say that the second coming of Christ is fulfilled 00:05:51.300 --> 00:05:55.980 when he came again at Pentecost. Now it is true 00:05:55.980 --> 00:05:58.779 that Jesus said that he would be with his own 00:05:58.779 --> 00:06:02.560 always, even to the end of the age. He said, 00:06:02.579 --> 00:06:07.699 I will not leave you comfortless as orphans. 00:06:07.959 --> 00:06:13.720 He said, I will come to you. He promised another 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:18.170 comforter who would be like him. But that is 00:06:18.170 --> 00:06:21.649 not the fulfillment of the Second Coming. Our 00:06:21.649 --> 00:06:25.129 Lord came spiritually at Pentecost in the person 00:06:25.129 --> 00:06:31.329 of the Holy Spirit. But that is not the fulfillment 00:06:31.329 --> 00:06:36.850 of His return to the earth. Even after Pentecost, 00:06:37.230 --> 00:06:40.910 when the Holy Spirit came, the Lord Jesus Christ 00:06:40.910 --> 00:06:43.110 was still in heaven. Do you recall Stephen's 00:06:43.110 --> 00:06:45.769 statement at the moment of his death? He said, 00:06:45.769 --> 00:06:49.470 I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing 00:06:49.470 --> 00:06:54.189 at the right hand of God. He saw Jesus in heaven. 00:06:55.050 --> 00:06:57.910 Jesus hadn't returned at Pentecost, although 00:06:57.910 --> 00:07:02.310 He came in the person of the Holy Spirit. And 00:07:02.310 --> 00:07:05.589 the epistles of the New Testament were penned 00:07:05.589 --> 00:07:09.529 after Pentecost, and yet in those very epistles 00:07:09.529 --> 00:07:13.470 we have so very many promises of His coming again. 00:07:13.709 --> 00:07:16.769 And so Pentecost is not the fulfillment of the 00:07:16.769 --> 00:07:19.850 Second Coming. And then there are those who teach 00:07:19.850 --> 00:07:24.370 us that He comes again at our salvation. That 00:07:24.370 --> 00:07:28.189 when we trust Christ that He comes again to us. 00:07:28.829 --> 00:07:31.970 Now once again in a sense that is true, that 00:07:31.970 --> 00:07:34.990 is in the sense that at the moment of our salvation 00:07:34.990 --> 00:07:40.370 Christ is in us as the hope of glory. The Apostle 00:07:40.370 --> 00:07:45.410 said Christ lives. in me. But he lives in us 00:07:45.410 --> 00:07:48.829 again, in the person of the Holy Spirit. That 00:07:48.829 --> 00:07:53.370 truth does not replace the promise of his return 00:07:53.370 --> 00:07:56.870 to the earth. Tonight we want to look at the 00:07:56.870 --> 00:08:02.269 return of the King. It is a future event. It 00:08:02.269 --> 00:08:05.149 will occur at a time when the preparations in 00:08:05.149 --> 00:08:08.269 heaven will have been completed. We have dealt 00:08:08.269 --> 00:08:12.040 with some of those preparations. Previous to 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:16.000 his return to the earth, he will have come to 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:20.300 call the church home in the rapture. And there 00:08:20.300 --> 00:08:23.839 in heaven we, the Lord's people of this age, 00:08:24.379 --> 00:08:27.060 will be examined at the Bema, at the judgment 00:08:27.060 --> 00:08:32.120 seat of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then we will 00:08:32.120 --> 00:08:35.340 be married to the Lord in a wonderful ceremony 00:08:35.340 --> 00:08:38.879 to be consummated by the married supper of the 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:43.940 Lamb. During that same period of time, there 00:08:43.940 --> 00:08:46.639 will be tremendous judgments poured out upon 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:50.480 the earth. All of the preparations in heaven 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:52.779 will have been completed, and the situation on 00:08:52.779 --> 00:08:57.080 earth will be ripe for His return. Wickedness 00:08:57.080 --> 00:09:07.100 will increase. The antichrist will rule and bring 00:09:07.100 --> 00:09:10.159 terror to the people of God as he seeks to persecute 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:14.190 them. He will gather together the armies of the 00:09:14.190 --> 00:09:17.929 world to do battle in Palestine in the valley 00:09:17.929 --> 00:09:22.649 of Megiddo or Armageddon. The situation on earth 00:09:22.649 --> 00:09:26.370 will be ripe and at that moment our Lord will 00:09:26.370 --> 00:09:30.330 return. Here in Revelation 19 we read about that. 00:09:31.389 --> 00:09:34.850 It says in verse 11, and I saw heaven opened. 00:09:35.049 --> 00:09:37.090 This is the second time in Revelation that has 00:09:37.090 --> 00:09:40.570 happened. It happened in chapter 4 verse 1. When 00:09:40.570 --> 00:09:43.289 a door was opened in heaven and John was told 00:09:43.289 --> 00:09:47.289 come up here and he went into the presence of 00:09:47.289 --> 00:09:51.070 the Lord and Received the remarkable revelation 00:09:51.070 --> 00:09:54.110 that we have been looking at here in the book 00:09:54.110 --> 00:09:57.470 of the revelation as we call it and here again 00:09:57.470 --> 00:10:01.769 heaven is open and behold a white horse and He 00:10:01.769 --> 00:10:05.549 who sat upon it is called faithful and true and 00:10:05.549 --> 00:10:10.269 in righteousness he judges and wages war Do not 00:10:10.269 --> 00:10:14.289 be mistaken, this is the Lord Jesus Christ. In 00:10:14.289 --> 00:10:17.529 Revelation 3, 14, that same term is used of Him, 00:10:17.649 --> 00:10:24.070 faithful and true. And His eyes are a flame of 00:10:24.070 --> 00:10:29.190 fire, and upon His head are many diadems. And 00:10:29.190 --> 00:10:32.110 He has a name written upon Him which no one knows 00:10:32.110 --> 00:10:35.870 except Himself, and He is clothed with a robe 00:10:35.870 --> 00:10:41.669 dipped in blood. For an interesting cross -reference 00:10:41.669 --> 00:10:45.409 for that, look sometime at Isaiah chapter 63, 00:10:46.409 --> 00:10:50.230 where the Messiah is pictured as coming in robes 00:10:50.230 --> 00:10:54.090 that are spotted with blood, the blood of his 00:10:54.090 --> 00:10:57.269 enemies. And that is the picture that is drawn 00:10:57.269 --> 00:11:00.350 upon here. His robe is, as it were, dipped in 00:11:00.350 --> 00:11:03.210 blood because of the warfare with his enemies. 00:11:03.850 --> 00:11:07.750 And his name is called the Word of God, the Logos 00:11:07.750 --> 00:11:11.500 of God. There can be no question as to whom John 00:11:11.500 --> 00:11:14.860 has in mind as he writes these words. The Word 00:11:14.860 --> 00:11:18.240 of God is his favorite name for Jesus in the 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:23.120 Gospel of John. And the armies which are in heaven 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:28.759 clothed in fine linen. My understanding of that 00:11:28.759 --> 00:11:31.379 is that it refers to those mentioned earlier 00:11:31.379 --> 00:11:34.679 in verse 8 of the same chapter. We've studied 00:11:34.679 --> 00:11:40.000 that. It is us. It is we, I should say. We who 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:43.379 are the Lord's people, we are the armies that 00:11:43.379 --> 00:11:46.200 are pictured here in fine linen which represents 00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:51.259 righteousness. White and clean, he further describes 00:11:51.259 --> 00:11:54.919 the linen. And the army were following him on 00:11:54.919 --> 00:11:59.519 white horses. And from his mouth comes a sharp 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:03.059 sword so that with it he may smite to the nations 00:12:03.059 --> 00:12:06.340 and he will rule them with a rod of iron and 00:12:06.340 --> 00:12:10.320 he treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:14.580 God, the Almighty. Again, sometime look at Revelation 00:12:14.580 --> 00:12:18.679 chapter 17 and verse 14 and understand that this 00:12:18.679 --> 00:12:22.679 wine press is a picture. It is a symbol of the 00:12:22.679 --> 00:12:26.340 wrath of God being poured out upon the world 00:12:26.340 --> 00:12:30.440 in that day. And on his robe and on his thigh 00:12:30.440 --> 00:12:35.899 he has a name written, King of Kings and Lord 00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:44.360 of Lords. King of kings and Lord of lords. I'd 00:12:44.360 --> 00:12:46.460 like for you to think with me tonight about three 00:12:46.460 --> 00:12:49.500 purposes for the return of Jesus Christ that 00:12:49.500 --> 00:12:52.620 we read about in this passage. Purpose number 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:58.139 one. He comes to destroy the Antichrist and his 00:12:58.139 --> 00:13:03.139 armies. We read here of the warfare that is involved 00:13:03.139 --> 00:13:08.519 in his return to the earth. It further says in 00:13:08.519 --> 00:13:14.600 verse 19, And I saw the beast, and the kings 00:13:14.600 --> 00:13:17.879 of the earth and their armies assembled to make 00:13:17.879 --> 00:13:22.240 war against him who sat upon the horse and against 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:26.779 his army. And the beast was seized, and with 00:13:26.779 --> 00:13:29.960 him the false prophet who performed the signs 00:13:29.960 --> 00:13:34.000 in his presence, by which he deceived those who 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:36.889 had received the mark of the beast. and those 00:13:36.889 --> 00:13:41.129 who worshipped his image. These two were thrown 00:13:41.129 --> 00:13:44.909 alive into the lake of fire which burns with 00:13:44.909 --> 00:13:48.470 brimstone, and the rest were killed with the 00:13:48.470 --> 00:13:51.690 sword which came from the mouth of him who sat 00:13:51.690 --> 00:13:55.190 upon the horse, and all the birds were filled 00:13:55.190 --> 00:13:57.470 with their flesh." Those are the birds mentioned 00:13:57.470 --> 00:14:03.149 in verses 17 and 18. This is not a very pretty 00:14:03.149 --> 00:14:07.879 picture. Indeed, it is a day of great calamity 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:11.720 and death upon the earth. There has never been 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:15.700 a day like this day. You go to the greatest battles 00:14:15.700 --> 00:14:17.879 that have ever been fought on the face of the 00:14:17.879 --> 00:14:21.600 earth, and you cannot find a battle to compare 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:24.899 with that day when Jesus Christ fights with his 00:14:24.899 --> 00:14:34.620 army against Antichrist and his armies. Field 00:14:34.620 --> 00:14:37.720 at Megiddo, the great valley that stretches before 00:14:37.720 --> 00:14:41.059 one at that place, said, what a perfect place 00:14:41.059 --> 00:14:44.919 for the armies of the world to fight. I do not 00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:47.620 know whether he was aware of the prophetic scriptures 00:14:47.620 --> 00:14:50.279 regarding that very subject, but he was right. 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:54.460 And it is at that place that this battle will 00:14:54.460 --> 00:14:58.559 take place. This destruction of Antichrist is 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:01.139 further described in 2 Thessalonians 2 verses 00:15:01.139 --> 00:15:06.409 7 and 8. In fact, In every text where the Antichrist 00:15:06.409 --> 00:15:10.789 is mentioned in the New Testament, there is a 00:15:10.789 --> 00:15:14.330 word at that same place regarding his destruction 00:15:14.330 --> 00:15:19.970 by the Lord Jesus Christ. So the first purpose 00:15:19.970 --> 00:15:22.549 of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ is to 00:15:22.549 --> 00:15:27.110 destroy the Antichrist and the armies of the 00:15:27.110 --> 00:15:30.250 world. But there's a second purpose for his return. 00:15:30.649 --> 00:15:34.129 and that is that he might save his people from 00:15:34.129 --> 00:15:37.690 persecution and death. Would you turn please 00:15:37.690 --> 00:15:47.970 to Matthew chapter 24. The Lord Jesus Christ 00:15:47.970 --> 00:15:52.090 gives us an extended teaching in this sermon 00:15:52.090 --> 00:15:56.549 regarding those days of his return to the earth. 00:15:58.830 --> 00:16:03.710 He says in verse 22, unless those days, what 00:16:03.710 --> 00:16:06.029 days? The days of the tribulation that he has 00:16:06.029 --> 00:16:10.450 just been talking about, unless those days had 00:16:10.450 --> 00:16:13.750 been cut short, no life would have been saved. 00:16:14.470 --> 00:16:18.429 But for the sake of the elect, those are his 00:16:18.429 --> 00:16:23.629 people, Jews and Gentiles, for the sake of the 00:16:23.629 --> 00:16:26.809 elect, that is those who are saved in the tribulation 00:16:26.809 --> 00:16:31.200 period, For the sake of the elect, those days 00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:35.720 shall be cut short. The pressure in the days 00:16:35.720 --> 00:16:40.080 of the tribulation from evil and iniquity will 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:44.679 be unbelievable. The Word of God makes it clear 00:16:44.679 --> 00:16:48.799 that unless those days had by God's sovereign 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:51.679 choice been cut short, it would have ended up 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:53.940 with the death, the annihilation of the entire 00:16:53.940 --> 00:16:58.919 human race. What happens at that moment when 00:16:58.919 --> 00:17:02.600 he comes when the elect are spared and saved? 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:07.160 Well in verse 31 he says and he the son of man 00:17:07.160 --> 00:17:11.940 who comes in great glory He will send forth his 00:17:11.940 --> 00:17:15.559 angels With a great trumpet and they will gather 00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:20.000 together his elect from the four winds From one 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:23.559 end of the sky to the other Some say oh, well, 00:17:23.559 --> 00:17:26.859 there's the rapture of the church not so This 00:17:26.859 --> 00:17:29.400 is not a word regarding the rapture of the church. 00:17:29.460 --> 00:17:32.599 If it were, then in what sense could the Apostle 00:17:32.599 --> 00:17:36.660 Paul have used the word mystery when referring 00:17:36.660 --> 00:17:39.099 to the rapture of the church? The word mystery 00:17:39.099 --> 00:17:42.880 means something that has not been revealed until 00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:48.720 that point. The Lord Jesus is talking about His 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:52.400 return to the earth and there will be at that 00:17:52.400 --> 00:17:56.119 time a gathering together. of the elect from 00:17:56.119 --> 00:17:59.759 all over the earth. There will be the sound of 00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:03.240 a trumpet involved in that, and angelic forces. 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:07.539 In some means they will go out to the four winds, 00:18:07.579 --> 00:18:10.220 that is, to the four directions of the earth, 00:18:10.900 --> 00:18:12.940 and from one end of the sky to the other they 00:18:12.940 --> 00:18:16.980 will bring together the Lord's elect, the Lord's 00:18:16.980 --> 00:18:19.119 people who have been saved in that tribulation 00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:22.480 period. Now many of them will have been martyred. 00:18:23.309 --> 00:18:26.410 A great multitude is seen in the book of Revelation 00:18:26.410 --> 00:18:30.910 as having died because of the persecution of 00:18:30.910 --> 00:18:34.309 the Antichrist. But there will be many who will 00:18:34.309 --> 00:18:37.089 be alive physically in that day when he comes 00:18:37.089 --> 00:18:40.349 again to the earth. And it is they who will be 00:18:40.349 --> 00:18:44.930 gathered together and spared from further persecution 00:18:44.930 --> 00:18:48.329 and certain death at the hand of Antichrist. 00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:52.559 This is a promise that God gives to the Jewish 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:55.680 people in particular I invite you to turn to 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:57.759 the Old Testament briefly with me to the book 00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:05.720 of Zechariah Now if you don't know where Zechariah 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:08.259 is you can look it up in the contents or you 00:19:08.259 --> 00:19:11.240 can go to Matthew and put it in reverse and You'll 00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:13.779 get there pretty quick. We're going to look first 00:19:13.779 --> 00:19:24.839 in Zechariah chapter 12 Here we have a word from 00:19:24.839 --> 00:19:28.359 God regarding his concern and care for the people 00:19:28.359 --> 00:19:34.160 of Israel. And he says in verse 10, well let's 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:38.559 back up to verse 8, in that day, what day is 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:42.000 that? The day of his return. In that day the 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:45.180 Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem 00:19:45.180 --> 00:19:48.720 and the one who is feeble among them in that 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:51.930 day will be like David and the house of David 00:19:51.930 --> 00:19:54.730 will be like God, like the angel of the Lord 00:19:54.730 --> 00:19:58.869 before them. And it will come about in that day 00:19:58.869 --> 00:20:03.190 that I will set about to destroy all the nations 00:20:03.190 --> 00:20:07.109 that come against Jerusalem." That is the purpose 00:20:07.109 --> 00:20:09.549 that Antichrist gathered these armies initially. 00:20:10.130 --> 00:20:14.609 He is marching on Israel. He is coming against 00:20:14.609 --> 00:20:18.089 the Holy Land when suddenly the Lord appears 00:20:18.089 --> 00:20:21.289 in heaven. And the attention, of course, of the 00:20:21.289 --> 00:20:24.269 armies is diverted at that point to that heavenly 00:20:24.269 --> 00:20:27.930 army. But the nations of the world will come 00:20:27.930 --> 00:20:32.049 together to do battle in Israel, to destroy Jerusalem. 00:20:32.450 --> 00:20:35.349 And the Lord promises that He will in that day 00:20:35.349 --> 00:20:38.670 destroy those nations that come together against 00:20:38.670 --> 00:20:42.250 Jerusalem. And He says, and I will pour out on 00:20:42.250 --> 00:20:46.130 the house of David and on the inhabitants of 00:20:46.130 --> 00:20:50.579 Jerusalem. the Spirit of grace and of supplication, 00:20:50.900 --> 00:20:55.380 so that they will look on me whom they have pierced. 00:20:55.500 --> 00:20:59.099 And they will mourn for me as one mourns for 00:20:59.099 --> 00:21:02.220 an only son, and they will weep bitterly over 00:21:02.220 --> 00:21:06.059 him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. 00:21:06.420 --> 00:21:11.339 In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem." 00:21:11.339 --> 00:21:14.779 He is speaking about that day when he returns 00:21:14.779 --> 00:21:19.960 visibly gloriously, bodily, to stand on the Mount 00:21:19.960 --> 00:21:24.240 of Olives. The prophecy through Zechariah is 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:26.960 that on that day there will be poured upon the 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:31.079 people of Israel the Spirit of grace and of supplication 00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:36.799 and there will be a repentance in that day for 00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:42.450 their rejection of their Messiah. The Lord says 00:21:42.450 --> 00:21:47.730 they will look on me whom they have pierced Can 00:21:47.730 --> 00:21:51.109 there be any mistake as to the person who is 00:21:51.109 --> 00:21:54.289 involved here the one with the pierced hands 00:21:54.289 --> 00:22:01.049 and feet inside and On that day they will mourn 00:22:01.049 --> 00:22:07.569 Like they have mourned at no other time he compares 00:22:07.569 --> 00:22:12.420 it to A situation in verse 11 back in the history 00:22:12.420 --> 00:22:17.880 of Israel when good King Josiah was killed in 00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:22.500 battle because of his own foolishness. He was 00:22:22.500 --> 00:22:25.279 beloved by the people. He had begun reigning 00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:29.740 as a boy and had reigned for some 36 or 38 years. 00:22:32.069 --> 00:22:34.930 practically worshipped King Josiah because he 00:22:34.930 --> 00:22:37.569 was such a godly man, had brought reform to the 00:22:37.569 --> 00:22:40.670 nation and revival had come under him. But he 00:22:40.670 --> 00:22:43.269 made a foolish mistake in going out against the 00:22:43.269 --> 00:22:47.289 Pharaoh of Egypt when he didn't have to. And 00:22:47.289 --> 00:22:49.549 apparently God sent him a message, don't go out, 00:22:49.569 --> 00:22:52.769 he went out anyway. And it says that an archer, 00:22:52.890 --> 00:22:58.430 by chance, shot an arrow that hit him and he 00:22:58.430 --> 00:23:00.509 died as a result of that battle. And the people 00:23:00.700 --> 00:23:04.420 of Judah were absolutely shattered. There was 00:23:04.420 --> 00:23:07.940 tremendous mourning because of the death of this 00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:12.160 young man, John Kennedy, kind of a figure to 00:23:12.160 --> 00:23:17.420 the people of Judah in that day. And the writer 00:23:17.420 --> 00:23:20.160 of Scripture here, Zacharias, says the mourning 00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:24.039 on that day when Jesus comes back, when He is 00:23:24.039 --> 00:23:27.849 seen... by the people of Jerusalem. That mourning 00:23:27.849 --> 00:23:30.269 can only be compared, he says, to what happened 00:23:30.269 --> 00:23:34.369 back there in ancient history. He will come back 00:23:34.369 --> 00:23:38.549 to redeem or to rescue rather his people who 00:23:38.549 --> 00:23:41.390 are in persecution. Turn over to chapter 14 of 00:23:41.390 --> 00:23:45.690 Zechariah. Again, we read about this same day. 00:23:46.269 --> 00:23:49.410 He says, Behold, a day is coming for the Lord 00:23:49.410 --> 00:23:53.089 when the spoil taken from you will be divided 00:23:53.089 --> 00:23:56.160 among you. In other words, you'll receive back 00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:58.339 what the enemy has taken, he says to the Jewish 00:23:58.339 --> 00:24:01.940 people. For I will gather all the nations against 00:24:01.940 --> 00:24:05.220 Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, 00:24:05.339 --> 00:24:07.400 and the houses plundered, and the women ravished, 00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:10.400 and half of the city exiled, but the rest of 00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:12.880 the people will not be cut off from the city. 00:24:14.440 --> 00:24:17.559 will go forth and fight against those nations 00:24:17.559 --> 00:24:21.160 as when he fights on a day of battle. And in 00:24:21.160 --> 00:24:24.240 that day his feet will stand on the Mount of 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:26.660 Olives, which is in the front of Jerusalem on 00:24:26.660 --> 00:24:29.980 the east. And the Mount of Olives will be split 00:24:29.980 --> 00:24:34.039 in its middle from east to west by a very large 00:24:34.039 --> 00:24:37.500 valley. So that half of the mountain will move 00:24:37.500 --> 00:24:39.839 toward the north and the other half toward the 00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:45.759 south. He's describing here the event that will 00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:48.700 take place when Jesus returns and actually touches 00:24:48.700 --> 00:24:51.900 the Mount of Olives from where he went back to 00:24:51.900 --> 00:24:56.039 heaven. The Mount of Olives will split in two 00:24:56.039 --> 00:24:59.119 and a great valley will appear at that point. 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:02.880 Tremendous earthquake apparently will take place. 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:08.559 Seismologists tell us that fault is there below 00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:13.950 the Mount of Olives for this to happen. The whole 00:25:13.950 --> 00:25:17.309 topography of that part of Palestine, it seems, 00:25:17.809 --> 00:25:20.710 is going to be changed as a result of the upheaval 00:25:20.710 --> 00:25:23.390 of the earth and the splitting of it at the Mount 00:25:23.390 --> 00:25:26.950 of Olives when the feet of Jesus touch that mountain. 00:25:28.289 --> 00:25:30.150 Now why is all of this happening? So that the 00:25:30.150 --> 00:25:33.329 Lord may rescue his people who are obviously 00:25:33.329 --> 00:25:39.950 in danger of death. But then he comes also, thirdly 00:25:39.950 --> 00:25:44.819 and finally, to restore Israel to her place of 00:25:44.819 --> 00:25:48.259 theocratic prominence. That is, he comes to restore 00:25:48.259 --> 00:25:51.680 to Israel the promise of the kingdom. We can 00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:53.920 go ahead and read about it here in Zechariah 00:25:53.920 --> 00:25:58.259 14. When it speaks about his being the king, 00:25:58.319 --> 00:26:01.039 for example in verse 16, then it will come about 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:04.019 that any who are left of all the nations that 00:26:04.019 --> 00:26:06.299 win against Jerusalem will go up from year to 00:26:06.299 --> 00:26:09.420 year to worship the king, the Lord of hosts, 00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:13.000 and to celebrate the feast of booze. And it will 00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:15.359 be that whichever of the families of the earth 00:26:15.359 --> 00:26:18.000 does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the king, 00:26:18.099 --> 00:26:21.079 the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:24.819 And if the family of Egypt does not go up or 00:26:24.819 --> 00:26:27.059 enter, then no rain will fall on them. It will 00:26:27.059 --> 00:26:30.319 be the plague with which the Lord smites the 00:26:30.319 --> 00:26:32.880 nations who do not go up to celebrate the feast 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:35.619 of booze. This will be the punishment of Egypt 00:26:35.619 --> 00:26:38.339 and the punishment of all the nations who do 00:26:38.339 --> 00:26:42.390 not go up to celebrate the feast of booze. We 00:26:42.390 --> 00:26:44.690 do not have time to go into the details regarding 00:26:44.690 --> 00:26:47.049 that particular feast of the Old Testament, but 00:26:47.049 --> 00:26:51.990 read about it in Leviticus 23. That feast symbolically, 00:26:51.990 --> 00:26:57.210 typically pictures the kingdom, the millennial 00:26:57.210 --> 00:27:00.809 reign of the Messiah. And during His reign on 00:27:00.809 --> 00:27:04.509 the earth, when He is the King reigning on the 00:27:04.509 --> 00:27:08.250 earth, that feast will be reinstituted and all 00:27:08.250 --> 00:27:11.640 of the nations of the world are commanded to 00:27:11.640 --> 00:27:15.740 observe that particular feast, and if they do 00:27:15.740 --> 00:27:18.440 not, they are punished from the Lord. It says 00:27:18.440 --> 00:27:20.819 in verse 20, in that day they will be inscribed 00:27:20.819 --> 00:27:24.460 on the bells of the horses, holy to the Lord. 00:27:25.799 --> 00:27:28.019 And the cooking pots in the Lord's house will 00:27:28.019 --> 00:27:30.599 be like the bowls before the altar, and every 00:27:30.599 --> 00:27:33.500 cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy 00:27:33.500 --> 00:27:35.819 to the Lord of hosts and all whose sacrifice 00:27:35.819 --> 00:27:38.579 will come and take of them and boil in them and 00:27:38.579 --> 00:27:40.880 there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house 00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:44.839 of the Lord of hosts in that day." Canaanite 00:27:44.839 --> 00:27:47.619 here seems to refer to those who are wicked and 00:27:47.619 --> 00:27:50.700 unbelievers, disobedient people. And he says 00:27:50.700 --> 00:27:53.980 in that day disobedience and wickedness will 00:27:53.980 --> 00:27:57.279 be suppressed. Well what he is describing here 00:27:57.279 --> 00:27:59.640 in these words and we've only read a few of the 00:27:59.640 --> 00:28:03.160 words Notice verse 9 and the Lord will be king 00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:07.000 over all the earth in that day the Lord will 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:11.559 be the only one and his name the only one In 00:28:11.559 --> 00:28:13.799 just a few verses here that we've selected we 00:28:13.799 --> 00:28:16.220 have seen that our Lord is coming back not only 00:28:16.220 --> 00:28:22.200 to punish Antichrist to destroy his armies not 00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:25.480 just to save his people from persecution and 00:28:25.480 --> 00:28:30.579 death, but to establish his kingdom on the earth, 00:28:31.339 --> 00:28:37.900 that he might reign over all the nations. Now 00:28:37.900 --> 00:28:42.000 as we look to the future, there are three attitudes 00:28:42.000 --> 00:28:46.440 that we can have. Dr. Wilbur Smith says this. 00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:49.180 He says there are three possible attitudes. There's 00:28:49.180 --> 00:28:53.660 indifference, there's fear, and there's hope. 00:28:56.929 --> 00:29:03.269 The first, indifference, is unintelligent. One 00:29:03.269 --> 00:29:07.250 cannot look to the future with indifference and 00:29:07.250 --> 00:29:11.329 be considered intelligent. Not even an unbeliever 00:29:11.329 --> 00:29:15.450 can be considered smart if he looks at the future 00:29:15.450 --> 00:29:18.369 and the situation the world is in today and is 00:29:18.369 --> 00:29:21.210 absolutely indifferent about it. That's unintelligent. 00:29:21.730 --> 00:29:27.630 Fear. Well, that's unnecessary. It's unnecessary 00:29:27.630 --> 00:29:30.869 to look at the future with fear and dread, for 00:29:30.869 --> 00:29:36.930 the Lord is in control. The third hope. That's 00:29:36.930 --> 00:29:40.809 available for anyone. The Lord wants us to place 00:29:40.809 --> 00:29:44.789 our faith in Him, our trust in His Word. And 00:29:44.789 --> 00:29:46.930 in a day when there are many questions and a 00:29:46.930 --> 00:29:50.250 lot of uncertainty regarding the future, you 00:29:50.250 --> 00:29:53.869 and I know what direction history is moving. 00:29:54.240 --> 00:29:57.779 It is moving toward the return of Jesus Christ, 00:29:58.599 --> 00:30:03.859 His return to the earth to reign. The next time 00:30:03.859 --> 00:30:06.819 that we study in this series, we're going to 00:30:06.819 --> 00:30:11.160 talk about the retribution of the King. There 00:30:11.160 --> 00:30:13.759 are some things that our Lord will do immediately 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:17.700 upon His return to the earth by way of judgment. 00:30:19.380 --> 00:30:21.660 For right now, would you take your hymnal, please? 00:30:21.880 --> 00:30:24.640 and turn with me to just a chorus that is written. 00:30:26.460 --> 00:30:29.599 I think that this is a chorus from an old hymn. 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:32.059 I can't remember the verse now, but if I did, 00:30:32.099 --> 00:30:35.240 I wouldn't sing it anyway. But I'd like you to 00:30:35.240 --> 00:30:39.500 sing just this chorus, number 255. He is coming 00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:45.059 again. This very same Jesus rejected of men on 00:30:45.059 --> 00:30:47.539 that day when he went up from the Mount of Olives. 00:30:47.960 --> 00:30:50.920 The angels said to those gathered disciples, 00:30:51.420 --> 00:30:56.859 this same Jesus that you have seen taken up from 00:30:56.859 --> 00:30:59.619 you into heaven shall so come again in like manner 00:30:59.619 --> 00:31:03.400 as you have seen him go into heaven. On the day 00:31:03.400 --> 00:31:05.500 that we've studied about when he returns, he 00:31:05.500 --> 00:31:10.000 will come with clouds, with great glory, and 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:13.420 he will return to the Mount of Olives, to that 00:31:13.420 --> 00:31:16.779 place that he last left. and the people of Israel 00:31:16.779 --> 00:31:22.279 who have not seen Him since before His resurrection, 00:31:23.160 --> 00:31:25.420 before His death. The last time the people of 00:31:25.420 --> 00:31:27.980 Israel as a nation saw Him was when He died on 00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:31.720 the cross. In His resurrection glory He appeared 00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:34.400 only to believers, but on that day when He returns 00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:38.460 to the earth He will be visible to all. And the 00:31:38.460 --> 00:31:40.880 spirit of grace and of supplication we poured 00:31:40.880 --> 00:31:44.160 out upon the Jewish people in that day that they 00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:47.740 might receive him as their king. Well, this is 00:31:47.740 --> 00:31:50.920 talking about that verse in Acts 1 -11, he is 00:31:50.920 --> 00:31:52.940 coming again. Would you stand with me as we sing 00:31:52.940 --> 00:32:18.980 together, 255. The very same Jesus Rejected of 00:32:18.980 --> 00:32:29.619 men He is coming again He is coming again With 00:32:29.619 --> 00:32:45.420 power and great glory He is coming again My friend, 00:32:45.579 --> 00:32:47.240 if you're here tonight and the thought of His 00:32:47.240 --> 00:32:50.079 coming again fills you with fear, because you're 00:32:50.079 --> 00:32:52.700 not prepared to meet the Lord. And that's not 00:32:52.700 --> 00:32:56.519 a hope for you, it's a dread. May I encourage 00:32:56.519 --> 00:32:58.900 you tonight to seek me out or one of our staff 00:32:58.900 --> 00:33:01.319 members? Because we'd like to sit down and talk 00:33:01.319 --> 00:33:04.359 with you about your salvation and how you can 00:33:04.359 --> 00:33:07.500 have that as your hope. And you need not be afraid 00:33:07.500 --> 00:33:13.250 but trust. Let's bow together. Lord Jesus, we 00:33:13.250 --> 00:33:17.970 bless you tonight for your saving work, for your 00:33:17.970 --> 00:33:22.470 first coming when you identified with us in every 00:33:22.470 --> 00:33:26.190 way possible and went to the cross and bore our 00:33:26.190 --> 00:33:31.130 sins, and then you were raised from the dead 00:33:31.130 --> 00:33:36.190 gloriously. We bless you that now you have ascended 00:33:36.190 --> 00:33:40.289 to the right hand of the Father, that you reign 00:33:40.289 --> 00:33:45.950 in heaven. We anticipate this day of your second 00:33:45.950 --> 00:33:51.210 advent We who are your people now in this age 00:33:51.210 --> 00:33:53.210 look forward to the rapture when we shall be 00:33:53.210 --> 00:33:56.910 caught away to be with you But we even look beyond 00:33:56.910 --> 00:34:00.609 that blessed hope of ours to that day when you 00:34:00.609 --> 00:34:03.930 will come back to the earth and establish a kingdom 00:34:03.930 --> 00:34:08.030 of righteousness and justice and We pray for 00:34:08.030 --> 00:34:14.329 that day and we pray your kingdom come May your 00:34:14.329 --> 00:34:19.610 will be done on earth even as it is right now 00:34:19.610 --> 00:34:25.809 in heaven. And may the anticipation of your return 00:34:25.809 --> 00:34:31.230 stimulate us to godliness and to good deeds. 00:34:32.550 --> 00:34:36.489 And may we be faithful ambassadors of the King. 00:34:37.690 --> 00:34:40.710 And we pray this in your blessed name. Amen. 00:34:41.570 --> 00:34:42.030 Good night.