1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 Good morning. 2 00:00:02,460 --> 00:00:04,460 How are you all doing today? 3 00:00:05,340 --> 00:00:07,340 Awesome, I'm doing great. Thank you so much. 4 00:00:08,140 --> 00:00:14,740 We'd like to start our Sunday mornings by saying welcome to any of you who are joining us here in our room for the very 5 00:00:14,740 --> 00:00:18,660 first time or if you're joining us online. So glad you're here to worship with us. 6 00:00:19,780 --> 00:00:27,140 I am Pastor Nathan and this morning we are continuing our look at the second coming of Jesus Christ in Revelation 7 00:00:27,140 --> 00:00:29,140 chapter 19. 8 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:31,740 You know one day the world will 9 00:00:32,580 --> 00:00:33,880 surprisingly 10 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:35,660 be surprised 11 00:00:35,660 --> 00:00:39,460 by the second coming of Jesus Christ here to planet Earth. 12 00:00:39,460 --> 00:00:43,420 And when he comes a second time his return is going to be a permanent one. 13 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:46,620 It's not going to be a short visit like his first time. 14 00:00:46,780 --> 00:00:51,900 It's not going to be a short visit in his adulthood, which is three and a half years of ministry was the first time. 15 00:00:51,900 --> 00:00:56,140 It's going to be a permanent arrival. He's coming to set up his kingdom. 16 00:00:56,140 --> 00:01:04,260 The kingdom of God, a kingdom of perfect righteousness, of perfect joy, and it's going to be a perfectly righteous rule and reign. 17 00:01:04,780 --> 00:01:11,580 We've talked a little bit about how the second coming of Jesus Christ is going to be quite a bit different than his first coming. 18 00:01:11,580 --> 00:01:18,900 You know in the first coming of Jesus, and obviously we're entering into the season where we're celebrating the birth of Jesus, 19 00:01:19,420 --> 00:01:21,980 he came really as a helpless child. 20 00:01:21,980 --> 00:01:31,100 Born into the world as a man, born into humanity in very humble conditions, born into the world in a feeding trough for animals. 21 00:01:31,580 --> 00:01:37,300 But in his second coming he's going to be arriving as the warrior king to rule all, to rule everything. 22 00:01:38,180 --> 00:01:40,180 His first time he came gentle, 23 00:01:40,900 --> 00:01:45,460 meek, but his second time he's going to be coming strong and powerful. 24 00:01:45,460 --> 00:01:50,460 And as Revelation 19 tells us he's coming to make war and to judge. 25 00:01:50,460 --> 00:01:57,460 Now we have said a lot during our study of Revelation how this book is primarily about one thing. 26 00:01:57,460 --> 00:02:02,460 The very opening of Revelation tells us that this is a revelation of Jesus Christ. 27 00:02:02,460 --> 00:02:06,460 And this whole book has been about a revelation of Jesus Christ. 28 00:02:06,460 --> 00:02:17,460 And I think very specifically it's a revelation of who Jesus Christ will be upon his return to this earth as the future hope of all of his people for all of time. 29 00:02:17,460 --> 00:02:24,460 Now as has been stated I think much of the world is familiar with the first coming of Jesus, even the unbelievers, 30 00:02:24,460 --> 00:02:28,460 because every year we have what's called the Christmas season. 31 00:02:28,460 --> 00:02:36,460 And every year we have battles between people who want to have manger scenes in front of their businesses or homes and people who think, 32 00:02:36,460 --> 00:02:37,460 no get rid of that stuff. 33 00:02:37,460 --> 00:02:42,460 And we have the battle among people going, is it Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, right? 34 00:02:42,460 --> 00:02:44,460 The world is well aware. 35 00:02:44,460 --> 00:02:49,460 That a man named Jesus came to the earth one time in history. 36 00:02:49,460 --> 00:02:52,460 And they know the story of his birth. 37 00:02:52,460 --> 00:02:57,460 They know the story of the wise man following the star, the gifts that they brought. 38 00:02:57,460 --> 00:03:01,460 They're familiar with the shepherds gathering from the songs that are sung during the season. 39 00:03:01,460 --> 00:03:05,460 They're familiar with the angels making proclamation. 40 00:03:05,460 --> 00:03:09,460 But I think they know less about his second coming. 41 00:03:09,460 --> 00:03:11,460 They know less about his second coming. 42 00:03:11,460 --> 00:03:19,460 They know less about his second coming even though scripture talks more about the second coming of Jesus than it does the first. 43 00:03:19,460 --> 00:03:29,460 But I think it's more than just ignorance on the part of the world because the world doesn't want the kind of Jesus that will arrive at his second coming. 44 00:03:29,460 --> 00:03:38,460 They want a manageable infant that they can just put up in store windows and in their manger scenes, 45 00:03:38,460 --> 00:03:42,460 whether it's at home and other places, and they just want to leave it at that. 46 00:03:42,460 --> 00:03:44,460 Oh, how cute. 47 00:03:44,460 --> 00:03:46,460 Oh, how wonderful. 48 00:03:46,460 --> 00:03:50,460 Oh, what a wonderful excuse to get presents. 49 00:03:50,460 --> 00:03:52,460 And that's all the world wants in Jesus. 50 00:03:52,460 --> 00:04:02,460 And really the world is always ready to acknowledge the pale Galilean image of Jesus that they have in their minds. 51 00:04:02,460 --> 00:04:05,460 This meager anemic messiah. 52 00:04:05,460 --> 00:04:08,460 And they'll go, yeah, no, that's fine for you. That's fine for you. 53 00:04:08,460 --> 00:04:17,460 But in Revelation chapter 19 verses 11 through 21, it presents a Jesus that is far beyond their imagined control. 54 00:04:17,460 --> 00:04:29,460 It presents a Jesus who comes in power and glory, one who rightfully demands honor and demands a submission of all the kings and peoples of the earth. 55 00:04:29,460 --> 00:04:33,460 The second coming of Jesus is the culmination of history on earth. 56 00:04:33,460 --> 00:04:38,460 When all accounts are settled between man and their creator. 57 00:04:38,460 --> 00:04:41,460 When the righteous are rewarded. 58 00:04:41,460 --> 00:04:45,460 When the wicked are finally judged fully and completely. 59 00:04:45,460 --> 00:04:52,460 When he, the king of kings, the Bible tells us that he is, sets up his everlasting kingdom, 60 00:04:52,460 --> 00:04:57,460 and it is something that his people have looked forward to for millennia. 61 00:04:57,460 --> 00:05:04,460 Something we long for when we see the injustices in the world and wickedness in the world. 62 00:05:04,460 --> 00:05:13,460 And so this section of scripture in Revelation 19 answers many questions about the second coming of Jesus Christ, including what will it be like? 63 00:05:13,460 --> 00:05:17,460 What will we, his people, be doing during this event? 64 00:05:17,460 --> 00:05:20,460 What is the final fate of those who reject him? 65 00:05:20,460 --> 00:05:26,460 And so this morning, this is actually part two of a two parts message here. 66 00:05:26,460 --> 00:05:30,460 We've been looking at this whole section, Revelation 19, 11 through 21. 67 00:05:30,460 --> 00:05:37,460 In our previous message, we looked at verses 11 through 16, which is really the description of Jesus at his second coming. 68 00:05:37,460 --> 00:05:40,460 The names given to him at his second coming. 69 00:05:40,460 --> 00:05:45,460 And today we're going to be looking specifically at what he does when he arrives. 70 00:05:45,460 --> 00:05:48,460 The activity he undertakes at his second coming. 71 00:05:48,460 --> 00:05:57,460 And what we're going to see is the king accompanied by the armies of heaven conquering in almighty power. 72 00:05:57,460 --> 00:06:01,460 But before we get to that, we're going to spend some time praising the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, 73 00:06:01,460 --> 00:06:04,460 worshipping him because he is due, right? 74 00:06:04,460 --> 00:06:06,460 He is worthy of all praise and all worship. 75 00:06:06,460 --> 00:06:13,460 And we want to start this morning just letting him know how we love him and our gratitude for the salvation he's given us. 76 00:06:13,460 --> 00:06:14,460 So pray with me. 77 00:06:14,460 --> 00:06:17,460 Father, we thank you, God. 78 00:06:17,460 --> 00:06:21,460 Lord, we're so grateful for who you are. 79 00:06:21,460 --> 00:06:24,460 We're so grateful for what you've done. 80 00:06:24,460 --> 00:06:28,460 And Lord, we're even grateful for what you're going to do. 81 00:06:28,460 --> 00:06:37,460 Lord, as we've studied through this Revelation, God, and you have revealed to the Apostle John the end of time, really, Lord. 82 00:06:37,460 --> 00:06:44,460 This tribulation period, this last seven years of this age of Earth's history where you're going to pour out judgment upon the Earth. 83 00:06:44,460 --> 00:06:49,460 God, we've seen some very difficult things, some very horrific things. 84 00:06:49,460 --> 00:06:59,460 And yet, Lord, we know that all of this judgment, all the judgment you bring that you ever bring is done in perfect righteousness, in perfect justice, Lord. 85 00:06:59,460 --> 00:07:02,460 And yeah, we worship you for that. 86 00:07:02,460 --> 00:07:05,460 We praise you for that, God. 87 00:07:05,460 --> 00:07:12,460 So, Lord, today we want to open up our study, God, as we have finally arrived at your coming, your arrival back to this Earth. 88 00:07:12,460 --> 00:07:17,460 As you come and put your feet back down upon this Earth the second time, Lord. 89 00:07:17,460 --> 00:07:22,460 We want to praise you for what you do as you come to make war and to judge. 90 00:07:22,460 --> 00:07:25,460 But, Lord, it's really to end all war for all time. 91 00:07:25,460 --> 00:07:29,460 And so, God, we thank you so much for everything you're doing. 92 00:07:29,460 --> 00:07:34,460 Of course, God, we're so grateful for our individual salvation, Lord, because we are nothing without that. 93 00:07:34,460 --> 00:07:36,460 We are lost without that. 94 00:07:36,460 --> 00:07:44,460 But, Lord, we also celebrate that you will one day finally and completely and totally judge sin and make an end to all wickedness. 95 00:07:44,460 --> 00:07:49,460 So, Lord, we want to lift your name on high, God, because we love you and you are worthy. 96 00:07:49,460 --> 00:07:52,460 Receive all the glory and all the blessing, God. 97 00:07:52,460 --> 00:07:55,460 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 98 00:07:55,460 --> 00:08:04,460 So, we are in Revelation chapter 19 today, and we've been studying the second coming of Jesus Christ, this momentous event 99 00:08:04,460 --> 00:08:11,460 that all of history has been looking forward to for basically forever, all the way back in the very beginning. 100 00:08:11,460 --> 00:08:18,460 All of this has been on the docket and something that we've been eagerly anticipating as His people. 101 00:08:18,460 --> 00:08:29,460 Now, the actions that Jesus Christ takes when He arrives for His second coming are actions that are reflective of His character and who He is. 102 00:08:29,460 --> 00:08:37,460 And that character, that description of who He is is what we looked at in part one of this message, which you could find on YouTube if you missed it there. 103 00:08:37,460 --> 00:08:41,460 But that's verses 11 through 16 of Revelation chapter 19. 104 00:08:41,460 --> 00:08:51,460 And so we saw this wonderful description of Jesus as well as four specific names or titles that were given to Him unique to His second coming 105 00:08:51,460 --> 00:08:53,460 or at least characteristic of His second coming. 106 00:08:53,460 --> 00:08:57,460 And those titles, if you remember, were faithful and true. 107 00:08:57,460 --> 00:09:00,460 He was called the Word of God. 108 00:09:00,460 --> 00:09:03,460 He was given a name we don't know. 109 00:09:03,460 --> 00:09:06,460 And so stop arguing about it, right? We don't know. 110 00:09:06,460 --> 00:09:11,460 And then He was also called King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 111 00:09:11,460 --> 00:09:20,460 We saw in that description His fiery eyes, the many crowns He wore upon His head, His blood-splattered robe. 112 00:09:20,460 --> 00:09:26,460 We saw in that description that the word of His mouth was like a sharp, two-edged sword. 113 00:09:26,460 --> 00:09:33,460 We also saw His shepherd-like but very firm rule that is coming over all of the earth. 114 00:09:33,460 --> 00:09:43,460 We saw His fierce but righteous and sinless wrath against sin and the wickedness of mankind. 115 00:09:43,460 --> 00:09:47,460 And much of those descriptive elements that we looked at in our last study, they are symbolic. 116 00:09:47,460 --> 00:09:56,460 They are symbolically representing aspects, characteristics of the exalted Jesus Christ and who He is at His second coming. 117 00:09:56,460 --> 00:10:02,460 One of those sayings is it said that when heaven opened up and John saw this rider come in on a white horse, 118 00:10:02,460 --> 00:10:12,460 and this white horse that Jesus rides in on is specifically in contrast to the horse or the mount He rode in on during His first coming. 119 00:10:12,460 --> 00:10:19,460 If you remember, during His first coming as He entered into Jerusalem, He came in riding on a donkey. 120 00:10:19,460 --> 00:10:22,460 Second time He comes in riding on this powerful white war horse. 121 00:10:22,460 --> 00:10:28,460 And so one of them obviously representing humility, one of them representing power and authority. 122 00:10:28,460 --> 00:10:37,460 And it's specifically interesting because in ancient times donkeys were specifically ridden on by kings during a time of peace. 123 00:10:37,460 --> 00:10:41,460 But during times of war is when they rode on white war horses. 124 00:10:41,460 --> 00:10:46,460 And so we see that during Jesus' first coming, He was coming as a sign of peace. 125 00:10:46,460 --> 00:10:47,460 He was coming to bring peace. 126 00:10:47,460 --> 00:10:54,460 He was coming to bring reconciliation between us, His creation, who are fallen and sinful and Him, our Creator. 127 00:10:54,460 --> 00:10:57,460 But the second time, it's a totally different story. 128 00:10:57,460 --> 00:11:06,460 And so I think the white war horse or the white horse is a particularly vivid imagery selected here as John is riding during John's time. 129 00:11:06,460 --> 00:11:13,460 This letter was written at the end of the first century, which was when Rome was pretty much at the pinnacle of its power. 130 00:11:13,460 --> 00:11:23,460 And during that time, when Roman emperors would go conquer a nation, the emperors would typically ride on a white horse in the victory parade that would come after. 131 00:11:23,460 --> 00:11:25,460 They would have this parade through Rome. 132 00:11:25,460 --> 00:11:35,460 And so the emperor would be on this big white powerful war horse representing his power and his authority and the fact that he's already conquered as the spoils of war were brought in behind him. 133 00:11:35,460 --> 00:11:44,460 And so the idea of Jesus being on this white horse was a very powerfully symbolic thing about who He is and what He was about to do. 134 00:11:44,460 --> 00:11:57,460 And so all of this characterizes who He is and gives us the context to verses 17 through 21, which was hinted at in verse 11 of chapter 19, where it says, He comes with justice. 135 00:11:57,460 --> 00:12:01,460 And it's with justice He judges and makes war. 136 00:12:01,460 --> 00:12:07,460 That is what He's coming to do in His second coming, to judge and to make war. 137 00:12:07,460 --> 00:12:14,460 Now, that's a very interesting statement to make about Jesus considering He's called the Prince of Peace. 138 00:12:14,460 --> 00:12:27,460 You know, we often picture Jesus and see Jesus in our mind's eye as the Savior, the one who comes to rescue us and the one who comes to rescue mankind from the power of sin. 139 00:12:27,460 --> 00:12:28,460 And that's all true. 140 00:12:28,460 --> 00:12:32,460 But this picture of Him coming to wage war is a difficult one. 141 00:12:32,460 --> 00:12:36,460 But what we're going to see is that He's not coming just to fight. 142 00:12:36,460 --> 00:12:38,460 He's coming to end fighting. 143 00:12:38,460 --> 00:12:39,460 He's coming to end war. 144 00:12:39,460 --> 00:12:48,460 He's coming to end very specifically the rebellious war against Him that has raged since the very beginning of man's history. 145 00:12:48,460 --> 00:12:54,460 And you remember in our last message, we said that that word justice there, when it says with justice, He judges and makes war. 146 00:12:54,460 --> 00:13:03,460 That word justice can also be translated in righteousness, that it's in righteousness He judges and makes war. 147 00:13:03,460 --> 00:13:10,460 That the moment of His second coming, the fight, if you will, is holy. 148 00:13:10,460 --> 00:13:12,460 It's righteous. 149 00:13:12,460 --> 00:13:13,460 It's just. 150 00:13:13,460 --> 00:13:15,460 It's appropriate. 151 00:13:15,460 --> 00:13:20,460 And it's an appropriate just response to a sinful world. 152 00:13:20,460 --> 00:13:29,460 And I said all that or I say all that to set up the idea that when we see what He does at His second coming, there's a lot of death. 153 00:13:29,460 --> 00:13:32,460 There are a lot of people who die. 154 00:13:32,460 --> 00:13:38,460 But when He came the first time, it was wicked men that judged Him. 155 00:13:38,460 --> 00:13:43,460 At His second coming, Jesus is going to judge wicked men. 156 00:13:43,460 --> 00:13:52,460 In His first coming, He stood before Pilate, who is the ruler of the area, and He stood before then Caiaphas and then Annas as representatives of the religious elite. 157 00:13:52,460 --> 00:13:55,460 And they judged Him unrighteously. 158 00:13:55,460 --> 00:13:58,460 They judged Him without proper justice. 159 00:13:58,460 --> 00:14:02,460 But here in the second coming, He's going to come back as everybody's King. 160 00:14:02,460 --> 00:14:12,460 The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, ruler of all and the ultimate high priest, as we saw in chapter one, where He was clothed in those robes with that sash across His chest. 161 00:14:12,460 --> 00:14:20,460 He comes as everybody's ruler and the ultimate high priest, and He brings judgment that is righteous and true and appropriate. 162 00:14:20,460 --> 00:14:24,460 Now again, I want to address the idea of why does this have to happen? 163 00:14:24,460 --> 00:14:30,460 Like, why does He have to come back with fiery eyes and judgment and making war and all of this? 164 00:14:30,460 --> 00:14:36,460 It's not like Jesus has been waiting for this moment up in heaven, right? 165 00:14:36,460 --> 00:14:39,460 Like, He's in a three-point stance, and He's like, Father, just let me go. 166 00:14:39,460 --> 00:14:41,460 I'm just ready to crush Him. 167 00:14:41,460 --> 00:14:47,460 I'm just ready, just lightning bolts in His hand, and Father's going, bro, hold on, right? 168 00:14:47,460 --> 00:14:49,460 That's not the picture. 169 00:14:49,460 --> 00:14:51,460 That's not the picture. 170 00:14:51,460 --> 00:15:07,460 You see, when you look at God's Word cover to cover, what you find is that God's intent in Him coming to this earth as God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, clothed in flesh, the Bible tells us, the Word that had become flesh, Jesus Christ, He wanted to save. 171 00:15:07,460 --> 00:15:10,460 That was why God came the first time. 172 00:15:10,460 --> 00:15:15,460 The first overture to man, if you will, is I am here to save you. 173 00:15:15,460 --> 00:15:17,460 I am here to forgive you. 174 00:15:17,460 --> 00:15:19,460 You've broken my law. 175 00:15:19,460 --> 00:15:20,460 You've sinned against me. 176 00:15:20,460 --> 00:15:21,460 And you know what? 177 00:15:21,460 --> 00:15:26,460 I am a just judge, and so I have to meet out penalties on that. 178 00:15:26,460 --> 00:15:29,460 I have to bring justice. 179 00:15:29,460 --> 00:15:30,460 But you know what? 180 00:15:30,460 --> 00:15:43,460 God came the first time to die in your place, to take the penalty on your behalf so that I could satisfy my justice and yet extend grace and mercy to you. 181 00:15:43,460 --> 00:15:45,460 And that was the first time He came. 182 00:15:45,460 --> 00:15:50,460 He came to seek and to save that which was lost, the Scriptures tell us. 183 00:15:50,460 --> 00:16:01,460 Because the world rejected Him as their Savior and has rejected Him as their Savior, there is nothing left for Him but to be the judge of the world. 184 00:16:01,460 --> 00:16:06,460 The world's attitude has always been, we don't need a Savior. 185 00:16:06,460 --> 00:16:07,460 We don't need a Savior. 186 00:16:07,460 --> 00:16:09,460 We don't want a Savior. 187 00:16:09,460 --> 00:16:16,460 And during the tribulation period, as we have seen through our study of Revelation, that mentality will reach a fever pitch. 188 00:16:16,460 --> 00:16:25,460 It will reach a crescendo and thus, in a sense, God is finally saying, OK, you don't want me as your Savior? 189 00:16:25,460 --> 00:16:27,460 You don't want forgiveness? 190 00:16:27,460 --> 00:16:30,460 Then I'm going to come as righteous judge to make war. 191 00:16:30,460 --> 00:16:31,460 And I'm going to conquer. 192 00:16:31,460 --> 00:16:34,460 And I'm going to rule. 193 00:16:34,460 --> 00:16:45,460 And then it tells us there in the previous verses, I think it's verse 15, that He's going to rule with an iron rod, that iron rod signifying that His rule is going to be absolute. 194 00:16:45,460 --> 00:16:48,460 It's going to be unyielding. 195 00:16:48,460 --> 00:16:49,460 He's in charge. 196 00:16:49,460 --> 00:16:51,460 He runs the government. 197 00:16:51,460 --> 00:16:52,460 He's the final judge. 198 00:16:52,460 --> 00:16:54,460 He's the Supreme Court. 199 00:16:54,460 --> 00:16:56,460 And there are no appeals. 200 00:16:56,460 --> 00:16:59,460 That is what's going to be established when Jesus comes back. 201 00:16:59,460 --> 00:17:07,460 And then it tells us that this is all going to come through this time where it says, a trampling of the winepress of the fierce anger of God the Almighty. 202 00:17:07,460 --> 00:17:12,460 And again, we're like, oh, man, He's riled up. 203 00:17:12,460 --> 00:17:23,460 Well, you imagine an entire history of creations rebellion against Him where they shook their fists and said, God, we know You're Creator, but we don't want to acknowledge You. 204 00:17:23,460 --> 00:17:26,460 And then that turned into we don't need to acknowledge that You're real. 205 00:17:26,460 --> 00:17:27,460 And we're going to do it our own way. 206 00:17:27,460 --> 00:17:33,460 And it has just been wickedness and wickedness and wickedness and wickedness for millennia. 207 00:17:33,460 --> 00:17:36,460 And God is finally going to be done with it at this point. 208 00:17:36,460 --> 00:17:42,460 Now, this whole trampling of the winepress, this is imagery that would be very familiar to the original readers. 209 00:17:42,460 --> 00:17:44,460 It was primarily a Jewish audience. 210 00:17:44,460 --> 00:17:48,460 And Jews were familiar that every summer in Israel was the harvest of grapes. 211 00:17:48,460 --> 00:17:55,460 And so the grapes would all be gathered up and they would be put into these big vats that you would have to climb into. 212 00:17:55,460 --> 00:17:59,460 And the people would then climb into these vats and stomp the grapes. 213 00:17:59,460 --> 00:18:01,460 And it was just this big, like, fun thing. 214 00:18:01,460 --> 00:18:03,460 Stomp the grapes, crush the grapes. 215 00:18:03,460 --> 00:18:06,460 And as they did that, the juice, the grape juice would go out. 216 00:18:06,460 --> 00:18:08,460 And that's how they harvested the wine. 217 00:18:08,460 --> 00:18:14,460 But in the process of stomping all these grapes, they were thoroughly, thoroughly, thoroughly smashed. 218 00:18:14,460 --> 00:18:20,460 And the juice of the grapes splattered all over the vat, splattered all over their clothing. 219 00:18:20,460 --> 00:18:26,460 In fact, it was such a great splattering, it even splattered out and got on people who were close by. 220 00:18:26,460 --> 00:18:30,460 And this is the imagery of the Battle of Armageddon. 221 00:18:30,460 --> 00:18:37,460 This is the imagery, I believe, as we see in the previous description that he has a white robe that is splattered with blood. 222 00:18:37,460 --> 00:18:45,460 That as he comes to trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God's wrath against sin, against the rebellion, 223 00:18:45,460 --> 00:18:51,460 that it's going to be a total, complete wipeout, an absolute victory. 224 00:18:51,460 --> 00:18:57,460 Where the kings of the earth and all who stand against God will be thoroughly crushed, thoroughly crushed. 225 00:18:57,460 --> 00:19:03,460 And so again, we see a different kind of Jesus at his second coming. 226 00:19:03,460 --> 00:19:05,460 His approach is different. 227 00:19:05,460 --> 00:19:12,460 The first time Jesus came with grace and mercy and patience and kindness and gentleness. 228 00:19:12,460 --> 00:19:19,460 We read in the Gospels where he came healing the sick and ministering to the needy and casting out demons 229 00:19:19,460 --> 00:19:25,460 and bringing peace to troubled hearts and speaking words that lifted people's spirits and eased burdens. 230 00:19:25,460 --> 00:19:31,460 And this is wonderful, beautiful picture of the compassion of God, our creator. 231 00:19:31,460 --> 00:19:39,460 But at the end of time, after his time of patience and waiting has run out, it's very different. 232 00:19:39,460 --> 00:19:44,460 No longer on that lowly donkey, but on a powerful white warhorse. 233 00:19:44,460 --> 00:19:49,460 No longer with eyes full of tears, but then with eyes full of fire. 234 00:19:49,460 --> 00:19:55,460 No longer wearing a crown of thorns, but now wearing all the crowns of authority and rulership of the earth. 235 00:19:55,460 --> 00:20:01,460 Instead of being beaten and bloodied by his enemies, he is splattered with their blood. 236 00:20:01,460 --> 00:20:05,460 And instead of being abandoned by his followers like he was at the cross, 237 00:20:05,460 --> 00:20:11,460 he is now accompanied with the armies of heaven who are gathered with him at his return. 238 00:20:11,460 --> 00:20:13,460 It's a glorious moment. 239 00:20:13,460 --> 00:20:16,460 And so that brings us to verse 17, what he does at his return. 240 00:20:16,460 --> 00:20:19,460 Read with me in Revelation 19 verse 17. 241 00:20:19,460 --> 00:20:25,460 He says, And then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he called out in a loud voice, 242 00:20:25,460 --> 00:20:31,460 saying to all the birds flying high overhead, Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 243 00:20:31,460 --> 00:20:37,460 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of military commanders, the flesh of the mighty, 244 00:20:37,460 --> 00:20:44,460 the flesh of horses and of their riders, and the flesh of everyone, both free and slave, small and great. 245 00:20:44,460 --> 00:20:49,460 Then I saw the beast, the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war 246 00:20:49,460 --> 00:20:52,460 against the rider on the horse and against his army. 247 00:20:52,460 --> 00:20:58,460 But the beast was taken prisoner and along with it the false prophet who had performed the signs in its presence. 248 00:20:58,460 --> 00:21:03,460 He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image with these signs. 249 00:21:03,460 --> 00:21:07,460 Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 250 00:21:07,460 --> 00:21:12,460 The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider on the horse, 251 00:21:12,460 --> 00:21:18,460 and all the birds ate their fill of their flesh. 252 00:21:18,460 --> 00:21:24,460 Not a happy fun picture, is it? 253 00:21:24,460 --> 00:21:34,460 Jesus arrives, his army is following him, and he's arrayed in power and glory for judgment on all those who oppose him. 254 00:21:34,460 --> 00:21:41,460 And it says there in verse 19 that it's all the leaders in the armies of the world are gathered to wage war against God. 255 00:21:41,460 --> 00:21:47,460 Can you imagine being so deluded that you would think that's a good idea? 256 00:21:47,460 --> 00:21:54,460 God Almighty is here, and we're going to go fight him. 257 00:21:54,460 --> 00:21:57,460 We're going to defeat him. 258 00:21:57,460 --> 00:21:59,460 Such a delusion. 259 00:21:59,460 --> 00:22:04,460 Now, you might remember that Revelation, the study of Revelation we've seen already in a couple places, 260 00:22:04,460 --> 00:22:10,460 has indicated that during the tribulation time the people of the world come to know 261 00:22:10,460 --> 00:22:14,460 and acknowledge and believe that it is God bringing these judgments to the earth. 262 00:22:14,460 --> 00:22:19,460 We've seen that in a couple places where it's not that, oh, no, there is no God, there is no God. 263 00:22:19,460 --> 00:22:27,460 No, people come to believe, wow, there is a God, but they still willingly choose to deny him and to defy him, 264 00:22:27,460 --> 00:22:34,460 and then they go on to actively choose to follow the Antichrist and the false religion. 265 00:22:34,460 --> 00:22:40,460 They go on to consciously and maliciously murder the people of God and kill believers, as we've seen, 266 00:22:40,460 --> 00:22:46,460 these tribulation saints, people who give their life to Jesus Christ during this tribulation period, 267 00:22:46,460 --> 00:22:52,460 get forced into a position where if they don't take the mark of the beast, they are killed. 268 00:22:52,460 --> 00:22:54,460 They are murdered for that profession of Christ. 269 00:22:54,460 --> 00:22:57,460 They are murdered for that rejection of the Antichrist. 270 00:22:57,460 --> 00:23:01,460 We saw how the two witnesses that were proclaiming Jesus in Jerusalem are murdered, 271 00:23:01,460 --> 00:23:07,460 and they're left in the street to rot, and everybody celebrates, praise Antichrist. 272 00:23:07,460 --> 00:23:09,460 I don't know what they're going to say, right? 273 00:23:09,460 --> 00:23:14,460 But the witnesses are dead. 274 00:23:14,460 --> 00:23:19,460 And now, at the end of it, the leaders of the earth, the kings of the earth think, 275 00:23:19,460 --> 00:23:25,460 well, if they could kill his people and God didn't do anything about it, maybe we can kill God too. 276 00:23:25,460 --> 00:23:28,460 And so they gather together. 277 00:23:28,460 --> 00:23:36,460 Now, it's just an interesting picture to me, this whole idea of this worldwide coalition, 278 00:23:36,460 --> 00:23:39,460 this gathering together of all the kings of the earth, 279 00:23:39,460 --> 00:23:43,460 because when we look at the nations of the world, what we've seen historically, 280 00:23:43,460 --> 00:23:47,460 and even in our modern ages, they rarely agree on anything, right? 281 00:23:47,460 --> 00:23:55,460 When it comes to peace or energy policy or economics, they rarely come together. 282 00:23:55,460 --> 00:24:04,460 They try, but they will definitely one day absolutely unite in their hatred of God. 283 00:24:04,460 --> 00:24:09,460 And we even see that today, little inklings of that, 284 00:24:09,460 --> 00:24:13,460 where of all the different faiths and religions and beliefs in the world, 285 00:24:13,460 --> 00:24:18,460 the one that is the most oppressed by governments is Christianity. 286 00:24:18,460 --> 00:24:23,460 Everybody else can do their thing in schools, but you can't pray to Jesus. 287 00:24:23,460 --> 00:24:29,460 Everybody else can have their religious expression and work, but not your Christianity. 288 00:24:29,460 --> 00:24:33,460 And it's becoming more and more targeted as time goes on. 289 00:24:33,460 --> 00:24:38,460 And we've seen that it's going to become aggressively, openly mandated, 290 00:24:38,460 --> 00:24:45,460 endorsed by government, targeting against Jesus Christ and his people when we get to the end times. 291 00:24:45,460 --> 00:24:49,460 But it's like pilot and herit, it tells us in the gospels, they were enemies. 292 00:24:49,460 --> 00:24:54,460 Pilot and herit hated each other until Jesus Christ came on the scene. 293 00:24:54,460 --> 00:24:58,460 After Jesus Christ came on the scene, pilot and herit were suddenly good buddies, 294 00:24:58,460 --> 00:25:01,460 and they hated Jesus enough to see him crucified. 295 00:25:01,460 --> 00:25:05,460 And then it indicates that they were friends long after that. 296 00:25:05,460 --> 00:25:10,460 So at the end of the world, the entire world will agree that they should all gather their might 297 00:25:10,460 --> 00:25:16,460 and their tech and their militaries and all of it and fight against God. 298 00:25:16,460 --> 00:25:19,460 Now you might say, well, who are these armies, right? 299 00:25:19,460 --> 00:25:21,460 We've looked at the armies of God. 300 00:25:21,460 --> 00:25:25,460 We looked at that in the first part of Revelation 19 and the second part as well. 301 00:25:25,460 --> 00:25:27,460 But who are the armies of the world here? 302 00:25:27,460 --> 00:25:29,460 Who are these kings and these armies that are gathered together? 303 00:25:29,460 --> 00:25:35,460 Well, it's a fairly simple interpretation, but based upon what we've seen through Revelation, 304 00:25:35,460 --> 00:25:40,460 it's partly the armies of the ten nations that have gathered together to make up this coalition 305 00:25:40,460 --> 00:25:43,460 that is the one world government in the end. 306 00:25:43,460 --> 00:25:46,460 We've studied a lot about how these ten nations come together. 307 00:25:46,460 --> 00:25:50,460 There's some different interpretation, whether it's ten nations in Europe, 308 00:25:50,460 --> 00:25:54,460 whether it's ten geographical regions of the earth that are kind of, you know, 309 00:25:54,460 --> 00:25:56,460 divided up to make governing easy. 310 00:25:56,460 --> 00:26:00,460 We're not exactly sure, but it's the armies of these ten nations that come together 311 00:26:00,460 --> 00:26:03,460 because Revelation 17 verse 12 said, 312 00:26:03,460 --> 00:26:08,460 The ten horns you saw are the ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom. 313 00:26:08,460 --> 00:26:10,460 That's during John's time. 314 00:26:10,460 --> 00:26:13,460 But they will receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour, 315 00:26:13,460 --> 00:26:16,460 indicating a short time of global control. 316 00:26:16,460 --> 00:26:21,460 And it says these have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast, 317 00:26:21,460 --> 00:26:24,460 and these will make war against the lamb. 318 00:26:24,460 --> 00:26:28,460 But the lamb will conquer them because he is the Lord of lords and king of kings, 319 00:26:28,460 --> 00:26:32,460 and those that are with him are called chosen and faithful. 320 00:26:32,460 --> 00:26:34,460 So that's a part of the armies of the world. 321 00:26:34,460 --> 00:26:40,460 There's also another place in Revelation 16 where it references the armies of the kings of the east, 322 00:26:40,460 --> 00:26:43,460 which is something that is set up during the sixth bowl judgment. 323 00:26:43,460 --> 00:26:48,460 In Revelation 16 verses 12 through 14, then verse 16 there, it says, 324 00:26:48,460 --> 00:26:52,460 The sixth bowl, or the sixth poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, 325 00:26:52,460 --> 00:26:56,460 and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 326 00:26:56,460 --> 00:27:00,460 Then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming from the dragon's mouth 327 00:27:00,460 --> 00:27:03,460 and from the beast's mouth and from the mouth of the false prophet. 328 00:27:03,460 --> 00:27:09,460 For they are demonic spirits performing signs who travel to the kings of the whole world 329 00:27:09,460 --> 00:27:13,460 to assemble them for the battle on that great day of God, the Almighty. 330 00:27:13,460 --> 00:27:20,460 And then verse 16 says, So they assembled the kings at the place called in Hebrew Armageddon. 331 00:27:20,460 --> 00:27:27,460 And we talked about that valley in Israel called the Valley of Megiddo, or the Valley of Armageddon. 332 00:27:27,460 --> 00:27:34,460 It's this huge plain that military commanders for centuries have been saying, 333 00:27:34,460 --> 00:27:37,460 This is the ideal battlefield. 334 00:27:37,460 --> 00:27:41,460 And so many battles have been fought in the plain or the Valley of Megiddo. 335 00:27:41,460 --> 00:27:46,460 And this final battle as the kings of the earth and their armies are gathered will be fought there, 336 00:27:46,460 --> 00:27:49,460 or at least start the fighting there as well. 337 00:27:49,460 --> 00:27:52,460 It's also including the remnants of the armies of Gog. 338 00:27:52,460 --> 00:27:54,460 We didn't spend a whole lot of time talking about that, 339 00:27:54,460 --> 00:28:00,460 but in Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39, there's this prophecy that the armies of Gog, 340 00:28:00,460 --> 00:28:03,460 of the land of Magog, will come down from the north and invade Israel. 341 00:28:03,460 --> 00:28:06,460 And so it could be the remnants of this. 342 00:28:06,460 --> 00:28:09,460 Some interpret that to mean like, well, Russia is north of Israel, 343 00:28:09,460 --> 00:28:12,460 and so it's going to be a Russian army that comes in and attacks. 344 00:28:12,460 --> 00:28:17,460 And this attack is something that people say could either happen right before tribulation happens, 345 00:28:17,460 --> 00:28:19,460 or it could be part of the midpoint of tribulation. 346 00:28:19,460 --> 00:28:27,460 But either way, this army, this final army gathered at the very end could be remnants of this army of Gog. 347 00:28:27,460 --> 00:28:31,460 And so these armies are all gathered together in the nation of Israel, 348 00:28:31,460 --> 00:28:36,460 beginning in the Valley of Armageddon and then moving towards Jerusalem to wipe it all out, 349 00:28:36,460 --> 00:28:39,460 to destroy everything that is and of God. 350 00:28:39,460 --> 00:28:46,460 But as we see here in Revelation 19, it's not really a battle. 351 00:28:46,460 --> 00:28:48,460 It's just a wipeout, right? 352 00:28:48,460 --> 00:28:53,460 It says they gathered to do battle against the Lord. 353 00:28:53,460 --> 00:28:58,460 But the very next verse says, but the beast was taken prisoner. 354 00:28:58,460 --> 00:29:02,460 Oh, and he took the false prophet too, and the rest were killed. 355 00:29:02,460 --> 00:29:03,460 Right? 356 00:29:03,460 --> 00:29:05,460 There's this indication there that there's no back and forth. 357 00:29:05,460 --> 00:29:07,460 There's no ebb and flow of battle. 358 00:29:07,460 --> 00:29:09,460 He just ends it. 359 00:29:09,460 --> 00:29:11,460 And he ends it with his word, because you remember in verse 15, 360 00:29:11,460 --> 00:29:16,460 it said a sharp sword came from his mouth so that he might strike the nations with it. 361 00:29:16,460 --> 00:29:18,460 And he will rule them with an iron rod, 362 00:29:18,460 --> 00:29:22,460 and he will trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God the Almighty. 363 00:29:22,460 --> 00:29:27,460 And so the picture here is that all the armies are gathered. 364 00:29:27,460 --> 00:29:30,460 All the kings of the earth have brought all their military might together, 365 00:29:30,460 --> 00:29:33,460 all their weapons, all their missiles, all their stuff. 366 00:29:33,460 --> 00:29:35,460 And they bring it all together in this place, 367 00:29:35,460 --> 00:29:40,460 and Jesus comes down from heaven accompanied by his armies. 368 00:29:40,460 --> 00:29:42,460 Now, that's a plural word. 369 00:29:42,460 --> 00:29:47,460 If you go back into 11 through 16, you see that it's his armies, plural, 370 00:29:47,460 --> 00:29:51,460 that arrive with him, which is why I believe these armies make up the church 371 00:29:51,460 --> 00:29:53,460 that has been raptured prior to tribulation, 372 00:29:53,460 --> 00:29:56,460 the tribulation saints who got saved during tribulation, 373 00:29:56,460 --> 00:30:00,460 the Old Testament saints who had been waiting, and the angels itself. 374 00:30:00,460 --> 00:30:07,460 It's his armies standing against the armies, plural, of earth. 375 00:30:07,460 --> 00:30:10,460 And those armies of earth point the weapons at Jesus, 376 00:30:10,460 --> 00:30:15,460 ready to do battle, and Jesus just says, no. 377 00:30:15,460 --> 00:30:18,460 I mean, we don't know exactly what he says, right? 378 00:30:18,460 --> 00:30:21,460 But we do know that it's with his word, 379 00:30:21,460 --> 00:30:26,460 because they're struck by the sword from his mouth, verse 15 tells us. 380 00:30:26,460 --> 00:30:30,460 And then the imagery of the winepress, that at his word they are crushed, 381 00:30:30,460 --> 00:30:36,460 they are trampled, they are stomped out, they are destroyed by the word of God. 382 00:30:36,460 --> 00:30:40,460 And for those of us who go, well, I can't imagine that. 383 00:30:40,460 --> 00:30:48,460 Well, do you believe Genesis 1, where God said light and light was? 384 00:30:48,460 --> 00:30:51,460 If you believe that, why can't you believe him coming down and saying, 385 00:30:51,460 --> 00:30:56,460 uh-uh, or whatever he says? 386 00:30:56,460 --> 00:30:59,460 The destruction is absolutely thorough, 387 00:30:59,460 --> 00:31:03,460 because you'll notice a word that is represented in verses 17 through 18. 388 00:31:03,460 --> 00:31:06,460 I'm going to read it again, see if you pick up on the word. 389 00:31:06,460 --> 00:31:09,460 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he called out in a loud voice, 390 00:31:09,460 --> 00:31:12,460 saying to all the birds flying high overhead, 391 00:31:12,460 --> 00:31:15,460 come, gather together for the great supper of God, 392 00:31:15,460 --> 00:31:18,460 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of military commanders, 393 00:31:18,460 --> 00:31:21,460 the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and their riders, 394 00:31:21,460 --> 00:31:24,460 and the flesh of everyone, both free and slave, small and great. 395 00:31:24,460 --> 00:31:27,460 Did you notice the repeated word? 396 00:31:27,460 --> 00:31:30,460 The flesh, right? 397 00:31:30,460 --> 00:31:33,460 And you're like, hey, birdie, birdie, it's dinner time. 398 00:31:33,460 --> 00:31:35,460 And it's just like, what? 399 00:31:35,460 --> 00:31:38,460 I mean, the picture here, it's like carrion birds, vultures, 400 00:31:38,460 --> 00:31:41,460 you know, those types of birds that we know that will eat dead flesh, 401 00:31:41,460 --> 00:31:43,460 and they would eat the flesh of the dead, and you're like, 402 00:31:43,460 --> 00:31:46,460 oh, this is kind of gross, it's kind of graphic, right? 403 00:31:46,460 --> 00:31:49,460 It's pretty intense, what's being described here. 404 00:31:49,460 --> 00:31:55,460 But I think there's a very significant point in that repeated word. 405 00:31:55,460 --> 00:32:01,460 Here is a world that has rejected God and lived after its flesh. 406 00:32:01,460 --> 00:32:04,460 Here is a world that said, God, we're not going to obey you, 407 00:32:04,460 --> 00:32:08,460 we're going to obey our own flesh and pursue the desires of our flesh 408 00:32:08,460 --> 00:32:11,460 and pursue the indulgence of our flesh. 409 00:32:11,460 --> 00:32:13,460 We're going to lift up our own flesh as God and worship ourselves 410 00:32:13,460 --> 00:32:20,460 and our own wants and our own needs, and we, we are God, we are everything. 411 00:32:20,460 --> 00:32:23,460 And he's like, you think so? 412 00:32:23,460 --> 00:32:26,460 You think so. 413 00:32:26,460 --> 00:32:31,460 What we see here is the, the fruition of the Scriptures that say, 414 00:32:31,460 --> 00:32:36,460 you sow to the flesh, and then now you reap corruption. 415 00:32:36,460 --> 00:32:38,460 And so we're introduced to the supper, right? 416 00:32:38,460 --> 00:32:41,460 Come gather for the great supper of God. 417 00:32:41,460 --> 00:32:44,460 Just earlier in this chapter, we were introduced to the marriage feast 418 00:32:44,460 --> 00:32:46,460 of the lamb, right? 419 00:32:46,460 --> 00:32:51,460 And it's, this supper stands in great contrast to the marriage feast of the lamb. 420 00:32:51,460 --> 00:32:54,460 Now, interestingly enough, when it says the word supper here, 421 00:32:54,460 --> 00:32:58,460 but it says the word feast regarding the marriage supper of the lamb, 422 00:32:58,460 --> 00:33:01,460 it's the same exact Greek word. 423 00:33:01,460 --> 00:33:04,460 I don't know why it's translated feast here and supper here. 424 00:33:04,460 --> 00:33:07,460 I can't find out a reason why, but it's the same exact Greek word. 425 00:33:07,460 --> 00:33:15,460 It's referring to a formal meal with guests in attendance. 426 00:33:15,460 --> 00:33:20,460 But the picture is this in the contrast between the two. 427 00:33:20,460 --> 00:33:25,460 Everybody that is alive at this time, everybody that has ever lived, 428 00:33:25,460 --> 00:33:31,460 the reality is you will either accept his invitation to the marriage feast 429 00:33:31,460 --> 00:33:39,460 of the lamb or you will be the feast in the end. 430 00:33:39,460 --> 00:33:43,460 During tribulation time, we've read and we see people will scoff 431 00:33:43,460 --> 00:33:47,460 and scowl and blaspheme God. 432 00:33:47,460 --> 00:33:49,460 No, we won't accept your invitation. 433 00:33:49,460 --> 00:33:51,460 We don't want you. 434 00:33:51,460 --> 00:33:52,460 We don't want your salvation. 435 00:33:52,460 --> 00:33:53,460 We don't need it. 436 00:33:53,460 --> 00:33:55,460 In fact, we will destroy you. 437 00:33:55,460 --> 00:34:00,460 We'll wipe out your people and all of that. 438 00:34:00,460 --> 00:34:05,460 And we see a parallel passage in Matthew 24 pictures this moment. 439 00:34:05,460 --> 00:34:06,460 Matthew 24, 27, it says, 440 00:34:06,460 --> 00:34:10,460 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, 441 00:34:10,460 --> 00:34:12,460 so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 442 00:34:12,460 --> 00:34:17,460 Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather. 443 00:34:17,460 --> 00:34:18,460 And the carcass is there. 444 00:34:18,460 --> 00:34:21,460 I believe it's referring to these great armies of the earth that have 445 00:34:21,460 --> 00:34:24,460 converged together in the valley of Armageddon and moved down towards 446 00:34:24,460 --> 00:34:30,460 Jerusalem to dare fight against God Almighty, the creator of everything. 447 00:34:30,460 --> 00:34:34,460 Verse 20, it tells us that the beast was taken prisoner and along with it 448 00:34:34,460 --> 00:34:38,460 the false prophet who had performed the signs in its presence. 449 00:34:38,460 --> 00:34:41,460 It says he deceived those speaking of the false prophet. 450 00:34:41,460 --> 00:34:44,460 He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who 451 00:34:44,460 --> 00:34:47,460 worshiped its image with these signs. 452 00:34:47,460 --> 00:34:51,460 Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 453 00:34:51,460 --> 00:34:55,460 The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider 454 00:34:55,460 --> 00:34:59,460 on the horse and all the birds ate their fill of their flesh. 455 00:34:59,460 --> 00:35:04,460 Now, I think we've mentioned this a couple times, but there are three 456 00:35:04,460 --> 00:35:10,460 distinct reasons that this tribulation period comes upon the earth. 457 00:35:10,460 --> 00:35:14,460 There's three distinct reasons, purposes for it happening. 458 00:35:14,460 --> 00:35:21,460 One, it's primarily to judge a world that has hated God, to judge sin, 459 00:35:21,460 --> 00:35:26,460 to judge a world that has tried to push God out, a world that is presumed 460 00:35:26,460 --> 00:35:30,460 upon His grace, a world that has stood against Him, a world that has said 461 00:35:30,460 --> 00:35:36,460 no to His invitation over and over and over again. 462 00:35:36,460 --> 00:35:40,460 That's one of the primary reasons for the tribulation period. 463 00:35:40,460 --> 00:35:44,460 Now, interestingly enough, what we're reading about here is not their 464 00:35:44,460 --> 00:35:48,460 final judgment, it's just their execution. 465 00:35:48,460 --> 00:35:52,460 The final judgment of those who stand against God will come in Chapter 20 466 00:35:52,460 --> 00:35:55,460 when we look at what's called the Great White Throne Judgment. 467 00:35:55,460 --> 00:35:59,460 And this is a judgment, a final judgment that takes place after the 468 00:35:59,460 --> 00:36:01,460 thousand-year reign of Christ, the millennial kingdom. 469 00:36:01,460 --> 00:36:04,460 And so we'll get to that in Chapter 20. 470 00:36:04,460 --> 00:36:08,460 But the second distinct reason for the tribulation time is it's a time of 471 00:36:08,460 --> 00:36:14,460 God's final dealings and redemption of the nation of Israel, the Jewish people, 472 00:36:14,460 --> 00:36:17,460 God's chosen people, the Bible tells us. 473 00:36:17,460 --> 00:36:20,460 The tribulation time, the seven years, is referred to specifically as a 474 00:36:20,460 --> 00:36:25,460 time of Jacob's trouble because it's a time of great difficulty for the 475 00:36:25,460 --> 00:36:28,460 Jewish people specifically. 476 00:36:28,460 --> 00:36:32,460 And as we've studied, it will indeed be a very terrible, horrible time. 477 00:36:32,460 --> 00:36:36,460 It's going to be a time of worldwide mandated government-endorsed 478 00:36:36,460 --> 00:36:41,460 persecution against Jews simply for being Jews. 479 00:36:41,460 --> 00:36:44,460 We know that the first three and a half years kind of looks good, right? 480 00:36:44,460 --> 00:36:48,460 The Antichrist comes on the scene, he makes a peace treaty with them, and we 481 00:36:48,460 --> 00:36:51,460 look at that, they're going to be able to rebuild their temple, the third 482 00:36:51,460 --> 00:36:55,460 temple will come, and we've talked about how that could possibly work out where 483 00:36:55,460 --> 00:36:59,460 the Dome of the Rock is not even affected in any way, shape, or form, and 484 00:36:59,460 --> 00:37:03,460 so there's the Jewish temple right next to the Muslim Dome of the Rock, and 485 00:37:03,460 --> 00:37:07,460 everybody's happy for three and a half years. 486 00:37:07,460 --> 00:37:11,460 But we've read about at the midpoint of tribulation when the Antichrist is 487 00:37:11,460 --> 00:37:16,460 seemingly killed and miraculously resurrected and goes into the Jewish 488 00:37:16,460 --> 00:37:21,460 temple, desecrates the place, sits in the temple and says, no, I am God, 489 00:37:21,460 --> 00:37:24,460 worship me. 490 00:37:24,460 --> 00:37:27,460 And of course, the Jewish people who are very passionate about the worship of 491 00:37:27,460 --> 00:37:33,460 God, they'll be like, nah, some may. 492 00:37:33,460 --> 00:37:36,460 But then from that point forward, heavy, heavy persecution against the Jewish 493 00:37:36,460 --> 00:37:39,460 people takes place. 494 00:37:39,460 --> 00:37:43,460 There's even a prophecy in Zechariah 13, 8, 9, which indicates that two-thirds 495 00:37:43,460 --> 00:37:47,460 of the Jewish population on the planet will be murdered during tribulation time. 496 00:37:47,460 --> 00:37:52,460 It says this, in the whole land, this is the Lord's declaration, two-thirds will 497 00:37:52,460 --> 00:37:55,460 be cut off and die and a third will be left in it. 498 00:37:55,460 --> 00:37:59,460 And I will put this third through the fire and I will refine them as silver is 499 00:37:59,460 --> 00:38:01,460 refined and test them as gold is tested. 500 00:38:01,460 --> 00:38:04,460 They will call on my name and I will answer them. 501 00:38:04,460 --> 00:38:10,460 I will say they are my people and they will say the Lord is our God. 502 00:38:10,460 --> 00:38:16,460 I think one of the most beautiful things about the tribulation time, which there's 503 00:38:16,460 --> 00:38:21,460 not a whole lot of beautiful things about it, but I see here in Scripture, is 504 00:38:21,460 --> 00:38:28,460 that finally at the end of tribulation time, every Jewish individual that is 505 00:38:28,460 --> 00:38:34,460 living upon the earth will finally go, Jesus Christ is Messiah. 506 00:38:34,460 --> 00:38:37,460 That's so cool to think about. 507 00:38:37,460 --> 00:38:40,460 I know today there's a lot of disagreement even amongst the Jewish 508 00:38:40,460 --> 00:38:41,460 people, right? 509 00:38:41,460 --> 00:38:46,460 Some reject Jesus, some accept Jesus, but there is a time coming where those that 510 00:38:46,460 --> 00:38:52,460 are still alive are going to get through because they have confessed that Jesus 511 00:38:52,460 --> 00:38:54,460 Christ is Messiah. 512 00:38:54,460 --> 00:38:55,460 And what a stark contrast. 513 00:38:55,460 --> 00:38:58,460 The first time Jesus came, Israel rejected him. 514 00:38:58,460 --> 00:39:01,460 But at his second coming, prophetically, they will receive him. 515 00:39:01,460 --> 00:39:02,460 So that's the second reason. 516 00:39:02,460 --> 00:39:05,460 The third reason is to judge the Antichrist, right? 517 00:39:05,460 --> 00:39:08,460 You remember the fifth bowl that was poured out, it says it was poured out to 518 00:39:08,460 --> 00:39:11,460 judge the kingdom of the beast. 519 00:39:11,460 --> 00:39:17,460 It's to judge the guy who would dare stand on the world scene and say, I'm 520 00:39:17,460 --> 00:39:18,460 invincible. 521 00:39:18,460 --> 00:39:20,460 I died, I came back to life. 522 00:39:20,460 --> 00:39:21,460 I'm God, everybody. 523 00:39:21,460 --> 00:39:22,460 Worship me. 524 00:39:22,460 --> 00:39:26,460 The one who would dare say, I'm the one, I'm going to rule earth, I'm going to 525 00:39:26,460 --> 00:39:31,460 wear all the crowns, I'm going to run the government, I'm in charge. 526 00:39:31,460 --> 00:39:36,460 In Revelation 13, 4, we saw that this is what the world said. 527 00:39:36,460 --> 00:39:40,460 They worshiped the dragon because he gave authority to the beast. 528 00:39:40,460 --> 00:39:42,460 And they worshiped the beast. 529 00:39:42,460 --> 00:39:46,460 So they're worshiping the Antichrist and who he represents, Satan. 530 00:39:46,460 --> 00:39:49,460 But they said, who is like the beast? 531 00:39:49,460 --> 00:39:53,460 Who is able to wage war against it? 532 00:39:53,460 --> 00:39:56,460 Well, Jesus shows up and answers that question. 533 00:39:56,460 --> 00:39:57,460 And maybe that's what he says. 534 00:39:57,460 --> 00:39:58,460 I can. 535 00:39:58,460 --> 00:39:59,460 Boom. 536 00:39:59,460 --> 00:40:00,460 And they all fall down, right? 537 00:40:00,460 --> 00:40:05,460 I mean, I don't know what he does there, but he is the answer to that question. 538 00:40:05,460 --> 00:40:09,460 Who can wage war against the beast? 539 00:40:09,460 --> 00:40:13,460 Jesus Christ, God Almighty. 540 00:40:13,460 --> 00:40:18,460 Now, unlike the rest, verse 21, that were killed with the sword that came from the 541 00:40:18,460 --> 00:40:21,460 mouth of the rider on the horse, it tells us here specifically that the Antichrist 542 00:40:21,460 --> 00:40:25,460 and the false prophet are thrown alive into the lake of fire. 543 00:40:25,460 --> 00:40:33,460 It's like there's a very special or at least they get the full punishment first, 544 00:40:33,460 --> 00:40:36,460 in a sense. 545 00:40:36,460 --> 00:40:39,460 Because we said already the rest that are killed, it's their execution, but their 546 00:40:39,460 --> 00:40:44,460 final judgment is at the end of the millennial reign at the great white throne. 547 00:40:44,460 --> 00:40:47,460 But the Antichrist and the false prophet are thrown alive here at the second coming 548 00:40:47,460 --> 00:40:48,460 into the lake of fire. 549 00:40:48,460 --> 00:40:53,460 Now, this is in contrast to the two witnesses that stood in Jerusalem in chapter 11. 550 00:40:53,460 --> 00:40:57,460 It tells us that they were killed and then they ascended up to heaven and everybody 551 00:40:57,460 --> 00:40:58,460 saw it. 552 00:40:58,460 --> 00:41:03,460 But here, these two witnesses of Satan descend alive into hell. 553 00:41:03,460 --> 00:41:08,460 And what a picture of the differences between following Jesus Christ and following 554 00:41:08,460 --> 00:41:10,460 the devil, right? 555 00:41:10,460 --> 00:41:14,460 That's where we get the images of going up and going down. 556 00:41:14,460 --> 00:41:16,460 The idea of heaven and hell. 557 00:41:16,460 --> 00:41:19,460 You know, Billy Sunday said, hell is the highest reward the devil can offer for being 558 00:41:19,460 --> 00:41:22,460 a servant of his. 559 00:41:22,460 --> 00:41:26,460 The highest reward the devil can offer is hell. 560 00:41:26,460 --> 00:41:28,460 The Bible told us that. 561 00:41:28,460 --> 00:41:29,460 Still tells us that. 562 00:41:29,460 --> 00:41:31,460 The wages of sin is death. 563 00:41:31,460 --> 00:41:34,460 But the gift of God is eternal life. 564 00:41:34,460 --> 00:41:39,460 And it's interesting here that this is the first mention of the lake of fire in the 565 00:41:39,460 --> 00:41:40,460 book of Revelation. 566 00:41:40,460 --> 00:41:43,460 Now, I'm not going to dig into it right now because it's going to come up a little more 567 00:41:43,460 --> 00:41:45,460 detail in chapter 20 and we'll talk about it there. 568 00:41:45,460 --> 00:41:50,460 But this idea of the lake of fire and hell and final judgment, this is a subject many 569 00:41:50,460 --> 00:41:52,460 people don't like to talk about. 570 00:41:52,460 --> 00:41:58,460 It's a subject, incidentally, that many make jokes about to try and denigrate the 571 00:41:58,460 --> 00:42:02,460 concept and denigrate the ideas of heaven and hell and God and all of that. 572 00:42:02,460 --> 00:42:06,460 A lot of people think that hell, oh, it's going to be a big party with all their 573 00:42:06,460 --> 00:42:09,460 degenerate friends, right? 574 00:42:09,460 --> 00:42:14,460 They think they're going to show up to hell and devil is sitting in the VIP lounge, 575 00:42:14,460 --> 00:42:15,460 right? 576 00:42:15,460 --> 00:42:20,460 The Antichrist is the DJ, the false prophets, the bartender. 577 00:42:20,460 --> 00:42:22,460 And they're like, yeah, this is awesome. 578 00:42:22,460 --> 00:42:26,460 And they think that's what hell is going to be like. 579 00:42:26,460 --> 00:42:29,460 And it's not that at all. 580 00:42:29,460 --> 00:42:34,460 When we look at these two false witnesses, the Antichrist and the false prophet, 581 00:42:34,460 --> 00:42:41,460 those who led the charge against God, those who led the charge for pleasure and self 582 00:42:41,460 --> 00:42:49,460 and indulgence and sin, it says that Jesus' second coming, they were thrown alive into 583 00:42:49,460 --> 00:42:50,460 the lake of fire. 584 00:42:50,460 --> 00:42:52,460 They're tormented. 585 00:42:52,460 --> 00:42:53,460 They're tormented. 586 00:42:53,460 --> 00:42:56,460 And what we're going to see when we get through the Millennial Kingdom is at the 587 00:42:56,460 --> 00:43:01,460 end of the thousand-year reign of Christ, they are still alive being tormented in 588 00:43:01,460 --> 00:43:03,460 hell. 589 00:43:03,460 --> 00:43:08,460 In other words, hell is not a place of annihilation. 590 00:43:08,460 --> 00:43:13,460 It's not a place where you just cease to exist as some cults teach. 591 00:43:13,460 --> 00:43:18,460 Hell is not a purgatory where you just go and cook for a little while and burn off 592 00:43:18,460 --> 00:43:22,460 your sins and then you get released from it after you're good. 593 00:43:22,460 --> 00:43:27,460 Hell is not a place that others here on earth can pray you out of. 594 00:43:27,460 --> 00:43:32,460 Hell is not a place where someone here on earth can get baptized in your place and 595 00:43:32,460 --> 00:43:34,460 that'll get you out. 596 00:43:34,460 --> 00:43:36,460 None of that is true. 597 00:43:36,460 --> 00:43:40,460 Hell is a place of everlasting torment. 598 00:43:40,460 --> 00:43:47,460 And it's forever. 599 00:43:47,460 --> 00:43:48,460 I want to close on this story. 600 00:43:48,460 --> 00:43:53,460 There was a group of American soldiers once on board a warship that was heading to 601 00:43:53,460 --> 00:43:55,460 a battlefield. 602 00:43:55,460 --> 00:43:57,460 And there was a chaplain on board this ship. 603 00:43:57,460 --> 00:44:00,460 And these soldiers turned to the chaplain and they asked him, do you believe in 604 00:44:00,460 --> 00:44:02,460 hell? 605 00:44:02,460 --> 00:44:07,460 And this particular chaplain wanting to be relational and enlightened said, no, I 606 00:44:07,460 --> 00:44:08,460 don't believe in hell. 607 00:44:08,460 --> 00:44:10,460 It's just a metaphor. 608 00:44:10,460 --> 00:44:15,460 And so these soldiers said, well, will you please resign your position then? 609 00:44:15,460 --> 00:44:16,460 And he goes, why? 610 00:44:16,460 --> 00:44:20,460 He goes, well, if there's no hell, we don't need you. 611 00:44:20,460 --> 00:44:25,460 And if there is, we don't want you misleading us. 612 00:44:25,460 --> 00:44:30,460 You know, there is a truth in scripture that one day the whole world will be 613 00:44:30,460 --> 00:44:32,460 judged. 614 00:44:32,460 --> 00:44:38,460 There's a judgment coming in all who live and have ever lived. 615 00:44:38,460 --> 00:44:45,460 Now, it will either be a judgment unto rewards, having been invited and in 616 00:44:45,460 --> 00:44:49,460 attendance at the marriage feast of the Lamb, a part of the redeemed, whether 617 00:44:49,460 --> 00:44:54,460 you're the bride of Christ today, the church, or you're saved somehow during the 618 00:44:54,460 --> 00:44:57,460 tribulation period. 619 00:44:57,460 --> 00:45:02,460 Or it will be a judgment unto destruction, having rejected his invitation to come 620 00:45:02,460 --> 00:45:07,460 to the supper, the marriage feast of the Lamb. 621 00:45:07,460 --> 00:45:12,460 And you will then become the supper of the vultures and suffer in eternity in 622 00:45:12,460 --> 00:45:14,460 hell forever. 623 00:45:14,460 --> 00:45:19,460 And the Bible tells us that it's a place of torment and gnashing of teeth and 624 00:45:19,460 --> 00:45:23,460 suffering that is everlasting. 625 00:45:23,460 --> 00:45:29,460 What hell really is, is God allowing those who rejected his payment for their 626 00:45:29,460 --> 00:45:33,460 sin to make payment for their own. 627 00:45:33,460 --> 00:45:36,460 That's what hell is. 628 00:45:36,460 --> 00:45:41,460 Hell is a place where those who reject Jesus will get the opportunity to pay 629 00:45:41,460 --> 00:45:44,460 the price for their sin. 630 00:45:44,460 --> 00:45:48,460 And the reality is that they'll never be able to pay it off. 631 00:45:48,460 --> 00:45:51,460 Their payment will never be enough and their torment will never end. 632 00:45:51,460 --> 00:45:55,460 Hell is no joking matter, people. 633 00:45:55,460 --> 00:45:57,460 It's not something to take lightly. 634 00:45:57,460 --> 00:46:02,460 It's the ultimate reality for those who refuse to take the offer that God Almighty 635 00:46:02,460 --> 00:46:07,460 has so graciously offered to them through Jesus Christ. 636 00:46:07,460 --> 00:46:12,460 And the reality is Jesus Christ doesn't want any single person, any one of his 637 00:46:12,460 --> 00:46:14,460 creation to go there. 638 00:46:14,460 --> 00:46:17,460 In fact, the Bible tells us that hell wasn't even made for us. 639 00:46:17,460 --> 00:46:21,460 Hell was created for Satan and his demons. 640 00:46:21,460 --> 00:46:23,460 It was a jail made for them. 641 00:46:23,460 --> 00:46:28,460 It was a punishment made for them because of their rebellion against God, because 642 00:46:28,460 --> 00:46:32,460 of their rejection of God. 643 00:46:32,460 --> 00:46:38,460 But because misery loves company, from the very beginning the devil has sought to 644 00:46:38,460 --> 00:46:45,460 deceive as many as he can to drag them there with him. 645 00:46:45,460 --> 00:46:50,460 And so many sadly choose that. 646 00:46:50,460 --> 00:46:54,460 They choose to reject God. 647 00:46:54,460 --> 00:46:57,460 And they'll believe all these different lies. 648 00:46:57,460 --> 00:47:01,460 And sadly they end up realizing in the end it was true. 649 00:47:01,460 --> 00:47:06,460 And there's nothing that could be done about it at that point. 650 00:47:06,460 --> 00:47:10,460 God gave mankind the free will to choose. 651 00:47:10,460 --> 00:47:15,460 God would never force anyone to love him. 652 00:47:15,460 --> 00:47:19,460 But it is his blood shed for you and me that enables us to escape the wrath to 653 00:47:19,460 --> 00:47:21,460 come. 654 00:47:21,460 --> 00:47:22,460 It's his blood shed. 655 00:47:22,460 --> 00:47:26,460 When we put our faith in that, we are able to escape the wrath to come because his 656 00:47:26,460 --> 00:47:28,460 plan for humanity is not hell. 657 00:47:28,460 --> 00:47:31,460 His plan for humanity is heaven. 658 00:47:31,460 --> 00:47:33,460 That's his plan. 659 00:47:33,460 --> 00:47:39,460 But he'll let you choose hell. 660 00:47:39,460 --> 00:47:44,460 Because he wants to honor your free will. 661 00:47:44,460 --> 00:47:48,460 You know, and all the pursuits that we pursue outside of God to satisfy the 662 00:47:48,460 --> 00:47:53,460 longing of our soul are ultimately because I think we all have an inner thirst 663 00:47:53,460 --> 00:47:56,460 we're trying to quench. 664 00:47:56,460 --> 00:47:59,460 We're trying to find something that satisfies. 665 00:47:59,460 --> 00:48:04,460 We're trying to find something that makes us feel alive, feel whole, feel 666 00:48:04,460 --> 00:48:07,460 purpose, feel, right? 667 00:48:07,460 --> 00:48:11,460 Because if there's no heaven and hell and we're just animals, then what is the 668 00:48:11,460 --> 00:48:14,460 point? 669 00:48:14,460 --> 00:48:17,460 What is the point? 670 00:48:17,460 --> 00:48:22,460 And some get so caught up in that and they believe that there's no point that 671 00:48:22,460 --> 00:48:24,460 they get suicidal. 672 00:48:24,460 --> 00:48:26,460 They want to end it. 673 00:48:26,460 --> 00:48:30,460 Because without God, what is the purpose? 674 00:48:30,460 --> 00:48:34,460 But we have the point. 675 00:48:34,460 --> 00:48:38,460 And that thirst that people have that they're trying to quench in everything 676 00:48:38,460 --> 00:48:43,460 really ultimately is a thirst to be united and reconnected to their creator. 677 00:48:43,460 --> 00:48:48,460 But it's selfishness, it's sin that keeps us separated from God and as we seek to 678 00:48:48,460 --> 00:48:54,460 quench our thirst through everything but Him. 679 00:48:54,460 --> 00:48:58,460 I'm telling you this morning, please realize that it is a thirst that can only 680 00:48:58,460 --> 00:49:04,460 be satisfied by the living water of Jesus Christ, Him and Him alone. 681 00:49:04,460 --> 00:49:07,460 That is the message we have as the church of Jesus Christ. 682 00:49:07,460 --> 00:49:09,460 That is the message we share at Christmastime. 683 00:49:09,460 --> 00:49:14,460 That is the message we share every day of the year. 684 00:49:14,460 --> 00:49:17,460 That God is real. 685 00:49:17,460 --> 00:49:21,460 And that before His second coming, we still stand and live under the grace of His 686 00:49:21,460 --> 00:49:26,460 first coming where He came to bring peace and reconciliation. 687 00:49:26,460 --> 00:49:30,460 And we have an opportunity, everyone has an opportunity to respond to that in 688 00:49:30,460 --> 00:49:31,460 faith. 689 00:49:31,460 --> 00:49:35,460 And we the church, we have an obligation to take that message and to share it 690 00:49:35,460 --> 00:49:38,460 with people. 691 00:49:38,460 --> 00:49:42,460 You know, this is a cliché thing to say but the most important Christmas 692 00:49:42,460 --> 00:49:48,460 present you can ever give anybody is salvation. 693 00:49:48,460 --> 00:49:53,460 Is to introduce them to the one who loves them so much. 694 00:49:53,460 --> 00:49:59,460 The one who died for them so that they could be set free. 695 00:49:59,460 --> 00:50:05,460 And so yeah, the second coming, it may not be the glorious picture that we 696 00:50:05,460 --> 00:50:09,460 necessarily think of because it's going to be a time of war and judgment and 697 00:50:09,460 --> 00:50:12,460 bloodshed. 698 00:50:12,460 --> 00:50:18,460 But it comes at the very end of a long, long period of patience by our gracious 699 00:50:18,460 --> 00:50:20,460 God. 700 00:50:20,460 --> 00:50:23,460 And this time is coming quickly, I believe. 701 00:50:23,460 --> 00:50:27,460 And so there's an urgency for us to get about doing what we're supposed to be 702 00:50:27,460 --> 00:50:28,460 about doing. 703 00:50:28,460 --> 00:50:30,460 And that's preaching the gospel, amen? 704 00:50:30,460 --> 00:50:32,460 Let's pray. 705 00:50:32,460 --> 00:50:40,460 Father, we love you, Lord. 706 00:50:40,460 --> 00:50:49,460 And God, I would be remiss to not admit, Lord, that seeing you come like this 707 00:50:49,460 --> 00:50:55,460 speaks to a part of me that cries out for justice. 708 00:50:55,460 --> 00:50:58,460 When I see you coming like this, Lord, it speaks to a part of me that's like 709 00:50:58,460 --> 00:51:03,460 finally, get them. 710 00:51:03,460 --> 00:51:09,460 And yet, Lord, I can't forget that it would be me standing in the path of your 711 00:51:09,460 --> 00:51:15,460 judgment if it wasn't for the salvation that you freely gave. 712 00:51:15,460 --> 00:51:19,460 And so God, while we look forward to you coming and judging sin and judging 713 00:51:19,460 --> 00:51:25,460 wickedness, we don't revel in the death that that is going to bring, Lord. 714 00:51:25,460 --> 00:51:29,460 We pray, God, for the souls of those who don't yet know you, that they would 715 00:51:29,460 --> 00:51:34,460 come to know you, that they would be forgiven and set free, that they would 716 00:51:34,460 --> 00:51:37,460 receive the grace and mercy that you have for them, God, that they would have 717 00:51:37,460 --> 00:51:44,460 the salvation that saves them from the wrath to come instead of being in the 718 00:51:44,460 --> 00:51:47,460 path of that wrath. 719 00:51:47,460 --> 00:51:51,460 God, we know you are glorious. 720 00:51:51,460 --> 00:51:55,460 We know you are almighty. 721 00:51:55,460 --> 00:51:58,460 Jesus, we worship you because, Lord, you came to this earth. 722 00:51:58,460 --> 00:52:00,460 You lived and died. 723 00:52:00,460 --> 00:52:02,460 You promised that you're going to come back. 724 00:52:02,460 --> 00:52:05,460 And we know that when you come back, Lord, it's going to be in justice, in 725 00:52:05,460 --> 00:52:11,460 righteousness, with purity and perfection. 726 00:52:11,460 --> 00:52:14,460 But help us, God, not to have hard hearts against those who are wicked and 727 00:52:14,460 --> 00:52:19,460 evil in this world, Lord, but to have broken hearts as you have a broken heart 728 00:52:19,460 --> 00:52:25,460 towards the condition that they're in, that they're lost without you. 729 00:52:25,460 --> 00:52:31,460 It would be people who take the gospel forth every day of our lives through how 730 00:52:31,460 --> 00:52:36,460 we live, how we speak, how we engage with one another, how we are at home with 731 00:52:36,460 --> 00:52:40,460 our spouses and our children, how we are at work. 732 00:52:40,460 --> 00:52:44,460 But, Lord, also to take the opportunity to engage with people through tracks, 733 00:52:44,460 --> 00:52:50,460 through conversation, through something, that people would come to know you for 734 00:52:50,460 --> 00:52:55,460 who you are according to your word, not some pale misconception that the world 735 00:52:55,460 --> 00:52:58,460 has put out. 736 00:52:58,460 --> 00:53:03,460 Lord, we are so grateful and we're so thankful for your first coming. 737 00:53:03,460 --> 00:53:08,460 And we look forward to celebrating that this whole month, Lord. 738 00:53:08,460 --> 00:53:13,460 But, God, we are infinitely grateful for your second coming. 739 00:53:13,460 --> 00:53:18,460 And those of us that know you now will come back with you to rule and reign with 740 00:53:18,460 --> 00:53:23,460 you in perfection forever, God, something we definitely don't deserve. 741 00:53:23,460 --> 00:53:27,460 But through your grace is granted to us, God. 742 00:53:27,460 --> 00:53:29,460 Thank you so much for loving us. 743 00:53:29,460 --> 00:53:33,460 Thank you so much for saving us. 744 00:53:33,460 --> 00:53:35,460 Thank you so much for being you. 745 00:53:35,460 --> 00:53:36,460 We love you. 746 00:53:36,460 --> 00:53:37,460 It's in Jesus' name we pray. 747 00:53:37,460 --> 00:53:38,460 Amen. 748 00:53:38,460 --> 00:53:43,460 Let's worship, guys.