The King is Coming, Part 2

We have just come off the celebration of the Christmas season. It should be still fresh in our minds. But the celebration of Christmas is truly understood when you live in anticipation of the coming King. That is so important. And one of the songs that we sing at Christmas, written by Isaac Watts some 250 plus years ago, was a song not about the coming of the Christ child in his incarnation, but the coming of the Christ for his coronation. If you read the words very carefully, it says, joy to the world, the Lord has come, let earth receive her King.

Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing. Joy to the world, the Savior reigns, let men their songs employ, while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains, repeat the sounding joy. No more let sin and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow, for as the curse is found, He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness, and wonders of His love. When Isaac Watts wrote that, he wrote it based on Psalm 98.

Psalm 98 is about the return of the King. In Psalm 98, these words are written in verse number four, shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth, break forth and sing for joy, and sing praises. Verse eight, let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy, before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity. So when Isaac Watts wrote joy to the world, he wrote it based on the return of the King. So when we celebrate Christmas, the celebration of Christmas is a celebration that anticipates the return of the King.

You need to understand that. You need to realize that Christmas, without the birth, there is no death, without the death, there is no life, and without the life, there is no King to reign over those lives. So you need to understand the significance of Christmas, so few people understand it. But Christmas should be a part of our everyday lives, because Christmas is about anticipation. It's about the coming of the King. For instance, let me give you this.

There are 46 prophets in the Old Testament. Less than 10 of them spoke about the first coming of the Messiah, but 36 of them spoke about the second coming of the Messiah.

Now digest that for a minute. Every time the first coming is mentioned, the second coming is mentioned eight times.

You need to understand that. The coming of the King is the culmination of the ages. It's what everything is about. So our whole lives, our lives lived in anticipation of the arrival of the King. You need to grasp that truth. You need to come to understand that. And that's why we spend time talking about the King who comes to judge the earth. I've told you many times over the years that the Bible says that there are certain things that we are not to be ignorant of, and yet the things it says we're not to be ignorant of are the things that we are most ignorant in.

Isn't that ironic? For instance, the Bible says, I don't want you to be ignorant, brethren, about the sins of Israel.

Why? Because I don't want you to repeat those sins. That's why. So when you read first Corinthians chapter 10, verse number one, Paul says, I don't want you to be ignorant of the sins of Israel.

And then in Romans 11, he says, I don't want you to be ignorant about the salvation of Israel. But you know, we're really ignorant about that. We don't understand how Israel is going to get saved, but they are. And Paul says, don't be ignorant about the sins of Israel because there's a salvation coming for Israel. So don't be ignorant about that either. And then he says in first Corinthians 12 one, you know what?

I don't want you to be ignorant, brethren, about spiritual gifts. Don't be uninformed about them. Understand what your spiritual gift is. And yet the church is hurting today because there are people that come that don't understand their spiritual giftedness and how to exercise it in the church. And yet the Bible says, don't be ignorant about spiritual gifts.

And then it says in second Corinthians two 11, I don't want you to be ignorant about Satan's devices, but you know what we are.

We're ignorant about how Satan works, how he deceives people, how he causes doubt in people. And therefore we don't put on the armor of God because we are ignorant of Satan's devices. And then Paul would go on to say in second Corinthians chapter one, verse number eight, I don't want you to be ignorant of my sufferings.

Why? Because through the sufferings of Paul, the grace and the strength of God was manifested. And when you go through sufferings, you need to know how God's strength and grace can be manifested in your life. But so many times we go through suffering and we don't see the grace of God, nor receive the strength of God because we are ignorant about the sufferings of Paul. And then the Bible says in Romans chapter one, that we're not to be ignorant about the stimulus for preaching the gospel.

If you're ignorant about the stimulus for preaching the gospel, you don't preach it. If you understand it, you preach it. And then the Bible says in first Thessalonians four, verse number 13, I don't want you to be ignorant, brethren, about the second coming of the Messiah.

See that? Seven times the Bible says, don't be ignorant. Don't be uninformed. Understand these things. But those are the things we understand the least. You need to know them, especially about the return of the King in judgment. So Jesus speaks of his return some 21 different times. That's not counting the repeated times it's recorded in the gospels. 21 different occasions he speaks about his coming again, so that you understand that. And he gives these long dissertations concerning his coming again.

And Luke chapter 17 is one of them. You'll see another one in Luke chapter 21, because he wants you to understand his arrival. In Luke chapter 17, it's not something that's sequential or chronological. It's all about the day of judgment upon the earth. It's a particular element of his coming that when he arrives, judgment will take place. And you need to grasp that. And when that judgment happens, it will be devastating. It will be horrific. It will be overwhelming. And so therefore, you need to beware and make sure that you are ready for the return of the King.

For the believer, it's a blessing. He's coming again. For the unbeliever, it's a curse. And so Christ warns about his coming again. Jesus would speak about his coming kingdom all the time. In fact, when John the Baptist would lead the way in terms of the arrival of the Messiah, he would say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And then six months later, Jesus would pick up that same theme and say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is here. It's right here. It's right next to you. And when he would send the 70 out, he would send them out to preach about the kingdom of the God.

When he sent the 12 out, he sent them out to preach about the kingdom of God. It was all about the message of a King who has a kingdom. And so when you come to chapter 17, it's no wonder the Pharisees say, you know what, where is that kingdom? When is it going to come? You say you got a kingdom, but where is it? You say you're a King. You don't look like a King. And so in a kind of mocking, scoffing kind of way, they say, when is this kingdom going to come? You've been telling us about it for almost three years now.

Where is it? So they kind of mock him. And in their mocking, he responds to them. Well, the kingdom is going to come, but it's already here. It's within you. It's not visible. It's not coming with signs to be observed. It's within. It's invisible. It's spiritual, but there is coming a kingdom that will be visible, that will be external. But unless you are a part of the internal, invisible, spiritual kingdom, you will never enter the physical, external, literal kingdom, which is the millennial kingdom, which eventuates into the eternal kingdom.

Now, I told the second service last week, I forgot to tell you guys that I know that it can be overwhelming, all this information.

I understand that. All this stuff about the second coming of the Messiah and when he comes and how he comes and where he comes can be kind of overwhelming.

But if you stay with me over the next couple of weeks, you'll be overjoyed by being overwhelmed by the amount of information you're going to receive, because it helps you digest the cardinal doctrine about the return of the King, the culmination of all, all the doctrines, right? I mean, the doctrine of soteriology culminates with the arrival of the coming King, the glorification of our bodies. See, everything points to the coming of the Messiah. It is a cardinal teaching and the Old Testament prophets wrote extensively about it, extensively, so much so that we told you earlier that 36 of them speak about the second coming of the Messiah.

It's something you need to understand. In fact, only one-third of the prophecies of the Old Testament about Christ's coming were fulfilled at Christmas, right?

That leaves two-thirds yet to be fulfilled. So when we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate it with anticipation that Jesus is coming again. But he had to come to die, because if he didn't come to die, we can't live. And he had to establish his invisible internal spiritual kingdom where he is living within you, because the only way to get into the external kingdom is to be a part of the internal kingdom. The only way to get into the physical kingdom on this earth is to be a part of the invisible spiritual kingdom.

So Christ makes that very clear. And yet he says these words, the days shall come, verse 22, when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. Now that's a, that's a powerful verse. Now they're all powerful, right? But for our point today, this becomes very powerful to understand the coming of the King. Remember what it said in Acts chapter 1. Made it very clear. Acts chapter 1. This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched him go into heaven.

He's going to come in the same manner. He's going to come physically. He's going to come literally. He is going to come bodily. He's going to come the same way he left. That, that becomes pivotal in terms of understanding the coming of the King. You need to grasp that. He's coming again the same way in which he left. That makes his ascension crucial to his coronation on the earth. And so Jesus says, because he wants to, to, to take them into an understanding of the development of the physical kingdom on earth.

But when the King comes, he's going to come in judgment. And they need to understand that. And so there are certain aspects of this passage that help us understand his coming in judgment. And the very first point you need to understand is that his coming will be desired by his followers.

You desire the coming of the King. That's what he says. Look what it says. It says, the days shall come when you will long to see. Epithemia. There is a passion, an inner drive, a desire just to see one of the days of the Son of Man. There is something that's in you that longs to see just one of the days of the Son of Man. Now, let's talk about that for a second.

Because when he calls himself the Son of Man, every Jew knows Daniel 7, 13 and 14. Let me read it to you.

It says these words. Daniel chapter 7, verses 13 and 14. Daniel had a vision. He says, I kept looking in the night visions and behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a Son of Man was coming. And he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom that all the people's nations and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away. And his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.

When Christ calls himself the Son of Man, he does that some 80 times in the Gospels. He does that to draw the Jewish people back to Daniel chapter 7, verses 13 and 14. Because what Daniel saw was the coming of the Messiah. He was one like a Son of Man. He was coming to rule the earth. He was coming to establish his kingdom. And Christ says in Luke chapter 17, these words, the days shall come when you will long to see one of the days.

One of the days. And that's a very unique phrase. What does that mean? How many days are there of the Son of Man? Well, look what it says down in verse number 24. For just as a lightning when it flashes out of one part of the sky shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in his day. That's singular. Then verse 26, and just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it shall be also in the days, plural, the Son of Man. Then in verse 30, it will be just the same on the day, singular, that the Son of Man is revealed.

In other words, you are longing to see one of the days that introduces to you all of the days. The days are ethics. The days are events. For example, go back to the book of Amos. This has been done in the Old Testament before. Book of Amos. It says these words, Amos chapter 8, verse number 11. Behold, the days, plural, are coming, declares the Lord, when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the Lord. Verse 13, in that day, what day?

The day of days. Because the day is an epic. It's a period of time. And so in longing to see one of the days, you are longing to see the sequence of events that describe the arrival of the coming of the Messiah. And you're going to long to see one, and that's why John said, Maranatha, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Because he longed to see that day. And is it not true that we as believers long to see the day of the arrival of the Messiah, the King of Israel? Now, I want you to notice what it says, because I think this is really revealing.

He says, you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man. What's the next phrase? And you will not see it. Now, listen to me just for a second here.

Think about that for a moment. These people living would be around in 70 A.D., the majority of them would be. And Jesus says, you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you're not going to see it.

That tells me that what took place in 70 A.D. was not the coming of the Messiah as many theologians teach today. It couldn't be, because he says you're not going to see it. Now, if it was, then Jesus is a liar, and we know that's not true. But on top of that, it accentuates the fact that not only will they not see it in their lifetime, they're not going to see it. Why? Because even if 70 A.D. was the second coming of the Messiah, it could not have been.

Why? Because they would have had to have been gone before that. That means the rapture of the church would have had to have taken place before 70 A.D. and that didn't take place, because we're still here, the church is still being built. That's very important. Why is that important? Because in Revelation 3.10, God makes a promise, I will save thee from the hour that will come upon the whole world. You'll be saved from the hour of tribulation that will come upon the entire world. So Jesus makes a promise to these people that they're not going to see one of those days.

Oh, by the way, by the way, neither will you. Why? Because we'll be gone until that final end when we come back with him in all of his glory in Revelation 19. Well, this is a beautiful picture of the saints' anticipation of the coming of the King. Don't you want the King to reign? Why is that our desire? Let me spend some time here, because this is so important.

Why is this something we long for? Why is it something to be desired by his followers? Why is it we live in anticipation of the coming King? Why is it we spend so much time celebrating Christmas, singing songs about the arrival of the Messiah, living in anticipation about the second coming of the Messiah?

Why? You do do that, don't you? I would hope you do, because that's what believers do. We live in anticipation of the coming King. Number one, I'm going to give you 10 of them.

Number one is because of the predetermination of God, the predetermination of God. You know, God has a plan. It's all been predetermined from eternity past. That's why the lamb was slain before the foundation of the world, because it was a predetermined plan by God for that to happen. But God has a predetermined plan, and as believers in God, we want his plan to unfold exactly as he has promised it to unfold. And so because of the predetermination of God, we live in an expectation, a desiring of the arrival of the King.

God made a promise back in 2 Samuel 7 to David. Remember in 2 Samuel, David said he wanted to build a house for God. God said, no. And God said, I'm going to have you do one better, David. I'm going to give you a son who will sit on your throne forever. It's called the Davidic covenant. It says in verse 12 of 2 Samuel 7, when your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you who will come forth from you and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build the house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

It says in verse 16, and your house and your kingdom shall endure before me forever. Your throne shall be established forever. That was a promise that God gave to David because it was the predetermined plan of God to have his son sit on the throne of David. And it was in 2 Samuel 7 that David was able to understand what God would do through him by giving him a son, the Messiah that would rule and remain forever. That's the plan of God. The Davidic covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, the new covenant, they're all part of the predetermined plan of God.

God has a plan and it runs on schedule. So much so that in Psalm 89, God says this, my covenant I will not violate, verse 34, nor will I alter the utterance of my lips.

Once I have sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David. His descendants shall endure forever. His throne as the sun before me, it shall be established forever like the moon and the witness in the sky is faithful. It's a reiteration. 2 Samuel 7 verses 12 to 16 is referenced 40 different times in the Old Testament, 40 to help you understand that the covenant that God made with David is ironclad. It's a promise that God made. And so we desire the arrival of the Messiah because of the predetermination of God himself.

He has a plan that he has laid out. Everything happens under the counsel of his own will. And we want that to take place. We want it to be unfolded before us. We want God's will to be accomplished. That's why we desire his return. That's why in Isaiah 9, the son that's given the child that's born, right? We talked about his name, but the government will be upon his shoulders. That's yet to happen, but it will happen. We long for that. In Luke's gospel chapter one, the promise given to Mary says this, Luke chapter one, when Mary was wondering how it is she as a virgin could have a child.

It says, do not be afraid Mary, verse 30, for you have found favor with God and behold, you will conceive in your womb. Did she? Yes. And bear a son. Did she? Yes. And you shall name him Jesus. What was his name? Jesus. And he will be great. Was he? Yes. And he will be called the son of the most high. Was he? Yes. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David. Did he? No. But will he? Yes. Because if the other promises were literal, so will this one be literal. And he will reign forever the house of Jacob, forever.

And his kingdom will have no end. That's not some spiritual promise now. It's a literal promise because everything else was literal. The conception was literal. The birth was literal. The name was literal. The throne also will be literal. And his kingdom forever shall also be established because that's the promise of God. That's why we desire it. Number one, because of the predetermination of God.

Number two, because of the exhortation of the son of God, the exhortation of the son of God, Jesus would refer to his coming again, his return over and over again because he wanted you to understand.

In fact, by the way, the doctrine most talked about in scripture is the doctrine and subject of faith. The second most talked about doctrine is the subject of his second coming.

Did you know that? The most talked about doctrine in scripture outside of faith is the second coming of the Messiah.

How well do you know about his second coming? How well do you know the events surrounding that arrival? So important. So Jesus would say in Luke chapter 21, which he will say in a few short months from now as we go through this together, or maybe years, it depends, Luke 21 verse 25, and there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars and upon the earth, dismay among nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men feigning from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

And then they will see the son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing near. Even Christ would talk about his second coming.

And then it says down in verse 34, be on guard that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the and that day come on you suddenly like a trap for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. That verse, verse number 35 is extremely important into understanding how to interpret the book of Revelation because the judgment comes upon all those who dwell upon the earth. Now listen to what it says in the book of Revelation chapter 3 verse number 10, because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing that hour which is about to come upon the whole world to test those who, here's the phrase, dwell upon the earth.

10 times that phrase is used in the book of Revelation. Jesus uses that phrase in Luke 21 because the hour of tribulation comes only upon earth dwellers, that is those whose home is here. Our home is in heaven. We are citizens of heaven. The hour of tribulation does not come upon the church whose home is in heaven. It only comes on the earth dwellers. That is very important to understand because every time that phrase is used in the book of Revelation, it only refers to unbelievers. It never refers to believers, never.

And so once again you had that proof positive assurance that the church will not be here during the tribulation but Christ will come and take his church home before that great and terrible day of the Lord. But Jesus would say in my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so I would have told you and I go and prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto myself. The exhortation of the son of God is why we desire the coming of the king.

He promised it. He talked about it. He lived it. And number three, the inspiration of the spirit of God.

The inspiration of the spirit of God. Now we know that the word of God is inspired by the spirit of God. 2 Peter 1 20 21, holy men of God were moved borne along by the holy spirit, right? We understand that. Listen to Revelation chapter 3 verse 11. I am coming quickly, says the Lord. And then it says in verse number 13, he who has an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. So not only is God the father in his predetermination of all that happens in the world promise us that he's going to send his son a second time to establish his kingdom but the son of God himself proclaims the fact that he's going to come again and the spirit of God who inspired the word of God speaks to us about Christ's coming quickly.

But there's a fourth reason we desire the arrival of the Christ and that is because of the culmination of the church age. The culmination of the church age. First Thessalonians chapter 4 verse number 13 says these words, but we do not want you to be ignorant brethren about those who are asleep that you may not grieve as do the rest who have no hope for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus for this we say to you by the word of the Lord that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall not precede those who have fallen asleep for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and thus we shall always be with the Lord that great passage of scripture that talks to us about the translation of the church into glory that God is going to come for his bride there's going to be a time everything about the church age and the bride and bridegroom analogy in scripture speaks to the fact that the bridegroom can come for his bride at any moment see we got it all mixed up today you know we we have a wedding we plan a wedding right and it's all centered around the bride coming in a Jewish wedding it's all about the bridegroom that's the emphasis and the bridegroom can come whenever he wants the bride has to be ready and when he came and said I'm here it's time to go she better be ready because he's coming to take her as his own in the picture of the bride and bridegroom analogy in scripture it's how Christ is going to come and call for his bride the church who will be caught up together in the air and thus shall we ever be with the Lord 1 Corinthians 15 talks about how it is God is going to change our bodies and we will have glorified bodies perfect bodies this mortality will take on immortality this which is perishable would now become imperishable and we will have glorified bodies it's the culmination of the church age that's why we anticipate the return of the king because the rapture of the church is the trigger event that sets in motion the day of the Lord in all that takes place in Revelation 6 through 19 but none of that can happen until Christ comes for his church so we anticipate the arrival of our Messiah number five not only is it the predetermination of God the exhortation of the son of God the inspiration of the spirit of God the culmination of the church of God but there is the restoration and salvation of Israel that's why we desire the coming of the king Israel will be saved we want that to happen Zechariah is the is the book Zechariah chapter 13 or chapter 12 verse number 10 and I will pour out on the house of David and the habitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication said they will look on me whom they have pierced and they will mourn for him as one who mourns for an only son and they will we bitterly over him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn every wife and every family member and every individual goes on to say it says in verse 1 of chapter 13 in that day a fountain will be open for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for impurity that is the salvation of Israel Romans 11 promises that all Israel will be saved well the all of Israel being saved is the only third of Israel that's left that's why in Zechariah 13 verse number 8 it says and I will come in all the land declares the Lord that two parts in it will be cut off and perish and but the third will be left in it and I will bring the third part through the fire refine them as silver as we find and test them as gold is tested they will call on my name and I will answer them I will say they are my people and they will say the Lord is my God and Israel will be saved and so we know that two-thirds of them will be purged out what that means they're going to die they're going to be cut off but one-third encompasses the all of Romans 11 which says all Israel shall be saved all that's left is going to be saved and only thing left during the tribulation will be a third of them because the rest would have died in the horrible horrific judgments that have come upon the world and so because of the salvation the restoration of Israel we desire we long for there's a passion in our soul for the king to come again number six there's a desire because of the corruption the corruption in the world the corruption in the world it's hot in here isn't it wow it's getting hot in here the corruption in the world this is so good I love this hold on to your seats this is so good the world is so corrupt we desire Christ to come again we understand that the whole world lies in the lap of the evil one 1 John 5 19 okay so the usurper is running the world system that's why the bible says love not the world neither the things that are in the world why because satan 1 John 5 19 has the whole world lying in his lap and so one day Christ is going to come and take what is rightfully his he's not going to have a problem doing that because with the word of his mouth he slays all of his enemies but he's going to come back and take that which is rightfully his and the bible says in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 1 verse number 7 these words 2nd Thessalonians 1 verse number 7 when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels and flaming fire dealing that retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus and these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power when he comes to be glorified in his saints on that day and to be marveled that among all who have believed for our testimony to you was believed now we live in a world that's totally corrupted by satan and sin now understand this this is so rich that the second coming of Christ is so important it's so crucial that the very first prophecy in scripture from man to man had nothing to do with the first coming the messiah or the second coming did you know that let me read it to you Jude 14 and about these also Enoch in the seventh generation from Adam prophesied saying behold the Lord came with many thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment upon all and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him now do you understand the ramifications of that Enoch the seventh generation of Adam gave a prophecy by the way it's not recorded in the genesis so how do you know he said it Jude under the inspiration of the spirit of God tells us he said it and so the very first prophecy given by man to man was about the second coming now it says well wait a minute it says that he came sure it does why does it say that because in the greek text it says it as if it's already occurred because it's iron clad proof it will occur that's why it said that way and for those of you questioning this the very first prophecy given from God to man was a prophecy about the first coming Genesis 3 15 right where the seed of the woman will crush the serpent's head so the very first prophecy given by God to man was about the first coming but the very first prophecy from man to man of course Enoch had received from God right was about the second coming so of all these people who were in prophecy in the book of Genesis the very first prophecy they would have heard was about the coming of the son of man in judgment about or upon all the ungodly to convict them of their sin and we know that when Christ comes back every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the father they will be brought under conviction because there's only one king he's the king and they will bow in submission to him and so because of the corruption of the world we desire the king to come again number seven because of the vindication and exaltation of Jesus Christ because of the vindication and exaltation of Jesus Christ we told you last week that the last time the world saw Christ they saw him hanging on a tree we want the Lord to be vindicated we want the Lord to be exalted we want everybody to recognize him as the king of the well when does that happen Matthew chapter 24 verse number 29 but immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be dark and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens will be shaken and then the sign of the son of man will appear in the sky and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and then they will cut they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory and he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of the sky to the other he'll come back revelation chapter 19 he comes out of heaven on a white horse and those clothed in white raiment also come on white horses that is us all of the holy ones as jude 14 and 15 says we come with him he will be vindicated he will be exalted and that's what we want for our king that's why it's our desire that's why it's our passion that's why we long to see one of the days we want to see it we want to see the king come back that's what we anticipate that's what we look forward to so you had the pre-determination of God the exhortation of the son of God the inspiration of the spirit of God the culmination of the church age the restoration and salvation of Israel the corruption of the world the vindication and exaltation of Christ you also have the destruction of satan God made a promise in 315 that satan will be crushed in revelation chapter 20 when the king returns verse 1 and i saw an angel coming down from heaven having the keys of the abyss and a great chain in his hand he laid hold of the dragon a serpent of old who was the devil and satan and bound him for a thousand years and threw him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him said he should not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were completed after these things he must be released for a short time there was the promise of the destruction of satan yes he's bound for a thousand years he's released for a short time at the end of or toward the end of revelations chapter 20 as he talks about how he gathers the the unbelievers from around the world but Christ consumes them and satan is thrown into the lake of fire forever and ever and ever Matthew 25 says that hell was reserved and created for the devil and his angels and so we see the destruction of satan we don't want satan to have any more influence in this world and so we desire for the king to return there's also the consolation of the saints 1st esplanade 413 as he talks about his coming again he says comfort one another with these words why because these are the words of comfort listen the only comfort you ever receive this side of eternity is the comfort of the coming king that's the comfort it's all going to be over the pain will be over the tears will be gone no more death no more famine no more turmoil the coming king that's why in john 14 when the disciples were so distraught he said let not your heart be troubled you believe in god believe also in me let me give you comfort that in my father's many mansions if it were not so i would have told you and he's preparing a place for you that was the comfort for the troubled souls of the disciples when they were about to lose their messiah but only because he was going to die and rise again but it was all about the coming king and that's why we comfort one another with these words the consolation for the saints and lastly we long for it because of the persecution of the world the persecution of the world remember what it says in in second peter chapter three this is now beloved the second letter i'm writing to you in which i am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the command of the lord and savior spoken by your apostles peter says i just want to remind you something my job is to remind you he says so i'm going to stir up your memory you need to be reminded of what the prophets have said about what the return of the lord you need to know this and so he says know this first of all that in the last days mockers will come what are the last days the last days are defined as the days of christ's birth to the days he returns again those are the last days for the time he was born to the time he comes again and in the last days he says mockers will come after their mocking following after their own lust and saying where is the promise of his coming forever since the father's fell asleep all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation nothing's changed it's the argument of uniformitarianism which feeds evolution nothing's ever going to change nothing has ever changed and then peter says for when they maintain this that escapes your notice that by the word of god the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water through which the world at that time was destroyed being flooded with water in other words he says it escapes your notice that there was a catastrophic event at creation and then there was another catastrophic event when there was a global flood that rearranged the entire planet the way we have it now they have forgotten that even though they persecute those who believe in the coming of the messiah and then verse 7 but the present heavens and earth by his word are being reserved for fire kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men they forget that things just haven't gone along as they've always gone along there has been the interruption by catastrophic catastrophic events such as creation and a worldwide global flood but there's coming another judgment but do not let this one fact escape your notice beloved that with the lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day the lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness but is patient toward you not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance christ is in the process of building his church he's going to come but he's not going to come until the church has been built when the church has been built that last soul that's going to be saved in the church age then he comes for his church the tribulation begins upon the earth the great and terrible day of the lord it will happen just as he says but a thousand years this is one day to the lord he exists outside the realm of time so in god's mind time frame it's been about two days for us it's been a couple of thousand years and then he says but the day of the lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat and the earth and its works will be burned up since all these things are to be destroyed in this way what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness looking for and hastening the coming of the day of god let me tell you something about the second coming of the messiah it's not hard to understand it's hard to misunderstand did you get that it's not hard to understand it's hard to misunderstand it because it's so plainly revealed in scripture and for those of us who are believers this is our desire this is what we want this is what we long for this is what we live for like every bride lives for the day of her wedding she can't wait to get married she lives that anticipation for that day where the bride and bridegroom are joined together so too we as a bride are longing for the bridegroom to come and join us with him that we might be presented to his father who is in heaven that that married supper the lamb would take place in the great celebration in heaven would continue while there is destruction and devastation upon this earth until we come back with the king you see we are presented to his father in heaven as the bride and then we come back with him because now he's going to present the bride to the world the world needs to see the bride in all of our beauty so christ comes back on a white horse coming with his saints his holy ones his bride on white horses that the world may be introduced to the church the bride of christ again it's not hard to understand the events surrounding the return of christ it's hard to misunderstand them because they are so clearly revealed in scripture may god continue to give us the grace because knowing the terror of the lord paul said we persuade men judgment is coming it's coming in a devastating manner so what do we do we persuade men jesus is coming again and we live in the light of the return of the king let me pray with you father thank you for today and the opportunity we had to study your word once more our prayer is that you go before us and give us wisdom that our hearts will remain in a mode of anticipation that you could come at any moment to take us home to be with you that would trigger the events of the book of revelation that would lead to your coming in judgment upon this earth our prayer is that lord we would persuade others to know the truth that jesus is the savior of man we pray in your name amen