The King is Coming, Part 4

God is so good to be able to unveil for us in his word the truth about the end. And we are blessed to be able to study it together and to come to grips with what it is God has told us. And I guess if someone came to me and said you had one sermon to preach and you could preach it, I'd preach on the return of the king. Simply because it encompasses so much of scripture and it leads us into the future in terms of what God is going to do. After one of our services last week, a young lady came up to me who used to be a part of our church and she and her family moved away a number of years ago.

She came up to me and she said that she was so grateful to be here last Sunday. She said to me, we're a part of a really good church in the Midwest and we have a really good pastor. He's a nice man. And yet the people of our church, they know absolutely nothing at all about the Bible and nothing at all about what you talked about this morning. And she said, we were so grateful to be here today to hear about the return of the king. And then on Wednesday, she said to me these words, do the people of Christ Community Church know and understand that what they get on a regular basis is such a steady diet of truth that will change their lives.

I said, I don't know. You have to ask them. But as we go through our study of Luke chapter 17, and if you have your Bible, you can turn there because that's where we're going to be again this morning and next week and the week after that. Because it is an important topic for us to understand. And sometimes it's necessary for us to just sit in and soak in the elements of the text to come to realize that everything in the Bible surrounding that emphasizes that aspect in the text. And sometimes we need to go back and need to review and fill in the blanks so that we're able to be caught up to speed as to what exactly Jesus is saying, what has he said before and what have those who were before him said and those after him, what did they say?

So that we understand the full gamut of the words of Christ. It's important to understand that Luke 17 is about the king who is coming in judgment. We have told you that Luke 17 is not a chronology of events that take place before the return of the king. They are what happens when the king comes in judgment. So I'm going to put on the screen for you one more time, and probably next week as well, that famous chart that we have used on several occasions here at Christ Community Church to help you understand the return of the king.

Now I know I had a couple of people walk out of the service last week because they don't agree with this, and that's okay, I'm not offended by that. You know, on the way up I'll talk to them about it. Probably not because I'll have a glorified body then and I won't be able to sin, but the bottom line is that you need to understand what the Bible says.

And the reason we talk about this is because the king is going to come in judgment. And that's where the nation of Israel missed it. That's why the question in Luke 17 says, when is this kingdom coming? If you're the king, there is no kingdom because you don't look like a king, you don't act like a king, and you certainly don't have people surrounding you that look like subjects of the king. So when is this kingdom going to come? He talks to them about the invisible kingdom of God. And then he embarks on talking to them about the visible kingdom of God.

But before it comes, he comes in judgment. And the Bible speaks in the New Testament of seven major judgments. You need to understand these judgments because you need to understand what Christ is talking about in Luke chapter 17. You need to come to grips with the reality that the very first major judgment of scripture is the judgment on sin.

When Jesus died at Calvary, that's where your sin and my sin was judged. That happens before the church age. It happens at Calvary. It happens on earth. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5 21 that he who knew no sin became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The judgment on sin took place at Calvary. And that was the whole impetus behind the first coming. So that sin could be atoned for. And so the judgment of sin takes place at Calvary. When we understand that, we realize that there is no condemnation for those who in Christ Jesus. So to know that the very first subject of sin or judgment is a judgment talked about in scripture is the judgment of sin that takes place at Calvary.

In Acts chapter 2, the church is born. That's the church age. That's where we are right now. We're in the church age. And the second major judgment of scripture is the judgment of self.

The judgment of self. Listen to what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse number 31. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. Paul talks about at the communion table, it's a place of examination. It's a place where we judge ourselves in light of the cross. See, it's imperative that man comes to grip with the reality that there needs to be self-scrutiny, a judgment of self. Because there are a lot of people today in the church age that are in the so-called church, but truly have never come to grips with the reality of their sin and repented of their sin.

My wife and I, every once in a while we go on YouTube and watch these different preachers preach because someone tells us that they're a part of a certain church in this part of the country, and they want us to look at it and evaluate it.

So we did. And so we were watching this one guy preach, and he never opened his Bible. He only preached for 29 minutes. I'm not sure you could say anything in 29 minutes, but that's what he was doing. And as he was preaching, he had his Bible open, but he never used it. Okay, so it was sitting there, but he never used it. And he has five different campuses in which he preaches at, filled with people. He's talking about relationships. He's talking about our words. And the whole impetus was that when he was eight years old, there were some words spoken, not to him, but to his brother that changed the course of his life forever.

And the whole sermon was about how words change the course of your life forever. And I thought to myself, wow. So everybody in the audience is going back thinking, wow, what did someone say to me? Or what did I hear so many years ago that changed the course of my life forever? That's the emphasis of a sermon. And this place is packed with people. And I'm thinking, man, those poor people, they have no idea what they're hearing. They have no idea what they're getting themselves into. But that's the majority of churches today.

And the Bible calls for a judgment. Why? Because you need to know that when Jesus comes, you're going. You need to know that. Because there are people today who say, well, you know, if Jesus comes and there's this so-called translation of the church that's called rapture of the church, where the church is translated into glory, and then comes this seven-year tribulational period upon the earth, then I'll just give my life to Jesus right there. I'll come to saving faith when the church is gone. And therefore, then I can trust the Lord.

I know I'll have to go through tribulation, but at least I'll know that everything that you said was right. Well, the problem with that is that, listen carefully, if you're in the church age and you're a Bible-believing or in a Bible-believing church and you've heard the gospel and you don't come to Christ, the chances of you coming to Christ in the tribulation are zero. You just can't sit back and say, well, you know, if I live to that time, then I'll give my life to Jesus then. No. Listen to the words of 2 Thessalonians chapter two.

2 Thessalonians chapter two, where Paul is talking about the antichrist and his involvement during the day of the Lord. He says in verse number six, and you know what restrains him now that is the antichrist, so that in his time he may be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. In other words, the Holy Spirit is involved as a restraining agent of evil upon the earth. You think things are bad now? They're not bad now.

They're going to be horrible during the tribulation because the Spirit of God working through the church of God is restraining evil on the earth. And so there's this mystery called the mystery of lawlessness. It's a mystery because we don't understand it. We don't get it. We don't understand how bad it's going to be because lawlessness will characterize the age. And I'll explain it to you as we go through our service this morning, how that mystery of lawlessness will be revealed and the influence of Satan upon the earth as never before.

There's a reason why it's called the mystery of lawlessness and there's a reason why things are not as bad as they possibly can be. They will be, but not yet. And then the Bible says in verse number eight, and then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of his coming.

In other words, he's talking about the fact that the antichrist will be slayed by the word of the mouth. That is Christ speaks the word and he wins the victory. And then he says, that is the one who's coming is in accord with the activity of Satan with all power and signs and false wonders. And with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason, God will send upon them a diluting influence so that they might believe what is false.

You see, it's not that Satan will deceive you in the tribulation so that you don't believe, but that God will send a diluting influence on you so that you cannot believe the truth and you will believe that which is false. That's powerful. God gives you the opportunity to hear the word of God and to believe the word of God. And you live in a state of rejection, then God will send a diluting influence upon you so that you cannot believe. That's why if you have unsafe family members, you tell them about what the Bible says.

You need to warn them about the judgment of God. And so the Bible emphasizes in the New Testament seven major judgments. Number one, the judgment of sin at Calvary.

That's on earth. Number two, the judgment of self during the church age. Examine your life. How many times does the Bible speak about prove yourself, test yourself to see whether or not you truly know the Lord? And then comes a third judgment, and that is the judgment in heaven of believers works.

It's called the judgment seat of Christ. Okay, that's the third major judgment. Now realize that when you get there, second Corinthians 510 says that for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ and people begin to tremble about the judgment seat of Christ.

But that truly is what the Bible calls the Bema seat, the place of victory. And it's there the believer receives his rewards. And that Bema seat was a platform that was raised so that the one who was able to be the victor in the race would climb up on that raised platform, would receive his crown, his wreath and be crowned the victor. What's going to happen is that first Corinthians four or five says that Christ will praise us.

That's the judgment seat of Christ. That's why Romans 14 speaks about this same judgment. That's why first Corinthians three speaks about this same judgment.

It's not a judgment to condemn you. It's not a judgment that says, oh, you should have done this or you should have been here. It's a judgment that expresses the praise of God and reward you for your faithful service. That's the third major judgment.

Fourth major judgment is the judgment of Israel at the end of the tribulation. The judgment of Israel as explained in the book of Ezekiel chapter 20 verses 33 to 34 and Ezekiel chapter 13 verses 8 and 9. That's the fourth major judgment in the New Testament. It's a judgment of Israel where God will purge out two thirds of them and a third of them will go into the kingdom.

Two thirds will be purged out. That leads us to the fifth major judgment and that is the judgment of the nations that also happens at the end of the tribulation before the millennial kingdom. The judgment of the nations as recorded in Matthew chapter 25. It's called the sheep goat judgment where the sheep are on his right and the goats are on his left. It's emphasized all throughout the Bible because there's going to come a huge judgment when the king returns. A massive judgment. Let me read it to you.

It's in the book of Joel. The book of Joel. It speaks about it this way in Joel chapter 3. For behold in those days and at that time when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. The valley of Jehoshaphat is called the valley of decision. The valley of decision is the Kidron Valley. Those of you going to Israel with me in just a few weeks you'll be able to be in the Kidron Valley to understand exactly the valley of Jehoshaphat where this judgment will take place.

It says then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of my people of my inheritance Israel whom they have scattered among the nations and they have divided up my land. In other words there will be a judgment of the nations for they have scattered my people and they have divided my land and I promised that I would come in judgment. It says in verse number nine proclaim this among the nations prepare a war arouse the mighty men let all the soldiers draw near let them come up beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears let the weak say I'm a mighty man hasten and come all you surrounding nations and gather yourselves there bring down oh lord thy mighty ones let the nations be aroused and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations put in the sickle for the harvest is ripe come tread for the wine press is full the vats overflow for their wickedness is great multitudes multitudes in the valley of decision for the day of the lord is near in the valley of decision the sun and moon grow dark and the stars lose their brightness and the lord roars from zion and utters his voice from jerusalem and the heavens and the earth tremble but the lord is a refuge for his people and a stronghold to the sons of israel then you will know that i am the lord your god dwelling in mount in zion my holy mountain so jerusalem will be holy and strangers will pass through it no more the judgment of the nations in the valley of jehoshaphat when the king returns is a major judgment it's called the sheep goat judgment in matthew chapter 25 but god will gather the nations in the valley of decision he will stand on mount zion as promised because every conqueror of jerusalem would stand on the mount of olives overlooking the city of jerusalem and raise their sword as the ultimate conqueror when the king returns he too will stand on the mount of olives and he will judge the nations of the world because he truly is that king but i want you to note that when he comes again he does not descend to the mount of olives a lot of people think that when jesus comes back he's going to come back down in jerusalem on the mount of olives that's not true acts 1 11 says that he's going to come back in the same manner in which he left it doesn't say he's going to come back to the same place that he left but in the same manner he'll come with the clouds and great glory and he will descend and he will end up on the mount of olives but he does not descend on the mount of olives you need to get that you need to understand that that's important and i'll tell you why in a moment so you had the judgment of sin at calvary that's on earth you had the judgment of self during the church age that too is on earth you had the judgment seat of christ which is the judgment of the saints in heaven where they are rewarded you have the judgment of the sons of israel that takes place at the end of the tribulation where two-thirds are purged out and one-third goes into the kingdom you have the judgment of the surrounding nations according to matthew 25 in joel chapter 3 and then you have the judgment of satan and his demons the bible says in jude 6 and the angels who kept not their first estate but left their own habitation he hath reserved an everlasting chains under darkness until the judgment of the great day that judgment takes place on earth at the end of the kingdom it's recorded in revelation chapter 20 revelation chapter 20 verse number 10 it says and the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are also and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever so there comes another great judgment it's a judgment of satan and his angels satan will be released having been bound for a thousand years there will be this great battle that takes place in one verse in revelation 20 it's over and satan and his angels according to matthew 25 41 are thrown into the lake of fire which is hell which was specifically reserved for them and then you have the last of the seven major judgments in the new testament and that's what we call the great white throne judgment and that is only for the unsaved that is where the resurrection of all the unsaved of all the ages happens and they are presented before the throne of god revelation 20 verse number 11 and i saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it and whose presence earth and heaven fled away and no place was found for them in other words it is as it was before genesis chapter 1 verse number 1 and i saw the dead and the great and the small standing before the throne and the books were open and another book was open which is the book of life and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and hades gave her the dead which were in them and they were judged every one of them according to their deeds and death and hades were thrown into the lake of fire that is the second death the lake of fire and if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the lake of fire and then revelation 21 happens you have a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells there no longer is any sin there is no more tears it's perfect bliss because it is the eternal kingdom of god those seven judgments you need to understand why because the king coming in judgment is not about what took place at calvary that's when he judged your sin it's not about the judgment itself in the church age it's not about the judgment of of uh the demons and satan and it's not about the great white throne judgment it's about christ coming back down to earth after the seven-year tribulation when he comes back down that's the judgment of israel and that is the judgment of the nations and that's the judgment we're talking about in luke chapter 17 i give you that and maybe you say well we already knew that well that's good somebody probably next to you had no idea about those seven major judgments and by the way you'll be quizzed on them on the way out if you don't pass the test there's no lunch for you so you need to understand that this is extremely important because christ is talking about his coming again in judgment and so we have told you let me reiterate for you again that the king's return in judgment is scripturally defined it's scripturally delineated it is scripturally described there's no mystery here about the return of the king there's no mystery about the judgment of god upon mankind no mystery it's all clearly revealed in scripture so when we talk about the return of the king we are saying it is scripturally defined and then we said last week it is unwisely debated and disbelieved unwisely debated because if you read the bible literally if you read it logically then the only conclusion you can come up with is the conclusion that you see right there it's when you begin to do spiritual gymnastics in the text that you come up with a with a different kind of interpretation but to come up with a pre-tribulational view a pre-millennial view of the return of christ is the only logical interpretation of scripture as you read through the text it's not difficult to understand it's difficult to misunderstand we've tried to reiterate that to you you need to get a hold of that that's important and so when you look at this you think wow how could anybody believe in a mid-tribulational rapture that is somewhere in the middle of the tribulation we are going to be raptured out of here because god wants us to go through the tribulation the reason you don't go through the tribulation as a christian is simple because of calvary and the judgment of sin god promised that you would never experience his judgment and it's because you have been saved from your sin it's very simple to understand a pre-tribulational view if you understand calvary if you don't understand calvary you're going to come up with a different view of the tribulation and when you're going to lead this earth you got to understand calvary and the implications of christ dying on the cross for your sins it is crucial so that he will save you from the hour of tribulation revelation 310 that will come upon the whole world god has not predestined you to judgment you have been saved from your sin that's important to understand that and that jesus is going to come for his saints and then he comes with his saints how hard is that to understand he comes for them so that they can be in the place where his father is and then he comes with them that is so easy to understand and so it's unwisely debated unwisely disbelieved but number three we told you it's passionately desired passionately desired this should be a passion of all of us that jesus is coming again that one day i'm going to be with him and one day i will rule and reign with him but he's coming again to glorify his name he's coming again to vindicate his name he's coming again to so so the world will understand who jesus christ truly is because the last time they saw him they saw him on a cross the last time they saw him they saw him humiliated but this time they're going to see him in all of his glory and all of his splendor and all of his beauty in all of his brilliance and they're going to see him for who you and i know he is and so he's going to come again and therefore it is passionately desired by the people of god and then number four it is simply this according to luke chapter 17 it is universally displayed it is universally displayed the bible says very clearly the day shall come when you will long to see one of the days of the son of man and you will not see it it's a passionately desired they will say to you look there look here do not go away they're not run after them for just as a lightning when it flashes out of the one part of the sky shines to the other part of the sky so will the son of man be in his day universally displayed there is nothing that the first time he came the first time he came it was pretty much hidden no one knew he was he would arrive oh zacharias and elizabeth did mary and joseph did the angels would soon find out right and then there would be simeon and anna so there's just a few people who understood about the arrival of the messiah and then we hear nothing about the messiah till he's 12 years of age he's in jerusalem on passover talking to some of the scribes and pharisees and leaders of israel his parents had somehow left him in jerusalem had to come back and get him some three days later and then we hear nothing about jesus until he bursts on the scene after the preaching of john the baptist he's here for about three years of ministry he dies rises again promises he's going to come again and so we begin to realize that when he comes again everybody will see him so when the pharisees ask in luke 17 up in verses 20 and 21 they want to know about the signs where's the visible signs in the sky that let us know you're the king so jesus says you know what son of man doesn't come with signs why because he's going to build his church and the kingdom is within you but there's coming a time where he will arrive with signs it will be universally displayed for all the world to see let me show what the old testament said about that isaiah chapter 13 isaiah chapter 13 verse number six well for the day of the lord is near it will come as destruction from the almighty therefore all hands will fall limp and every man's heart will melt and they will be terrified pains and anguish will take hold of them they will writhe like a woman in labor they will look at one another in astonishment their faces aflame behold the day of the lord is coming cruel with fury and burning anger to make the land a desolation and he will exterminate sinners from it for the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light the sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light now we understand a bit more about what joel talks about in joel 3 which we read earlier thus i will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity i will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and the bays the haughtiness of the ruthless i will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold and mankind than the gold of ophir therefore i shall make the heavens tremble and the earth will be shaken from its place at the fury of the lord of hosts in the day of his burning anger prophet isaiah would write about the end in the day of the lord the day of the lord is the day of tribulation it's called the time of jacob's trouble by the way that's another reason the church doesn't go through the tribulation because the tribulation is the time of jacob's trouble the tribulation primarily is designed for the nation of israel because god's not done with them yet he has to purge them they have to understand who he is and then over in isaiah 34 listen to this isaiah 34 verse number one draw near all nations to hear and listen oh peoples let the earth and all it contains hear the word here and the world and all that springs from it for the lord's indignation is against all the nations his wrath against all their armies he has utterly destroyed them he has given them over to so their slain will be thrown out and their corpses will give off their stench and the mountains will be drenched with their blood and all the host of heaven will wear away and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll that's like revelation chapter six all their hosts will also wither away as the leaf withers from the vine or as one withers from the fig tree for my sword is satiated in heaven behold it will descend for judgment upon edom and upon the people whom i have devoted to destruction who has got devoted to destruction all those who refuse to believe in him the byproduct of unbelief the byproduct of not loving the lord is his destruction he says the sword of the lord is filled with blood it is stated with fat with the blood of lambs and goats with the fat of the kidneys of the rams for the lord has a sacrifice in bozrah and the great slaughter in the land of edom that one verse tells you exactly where the would descend exactly where the king will descend he will not descend on the mount of olives because there will be no battle there at its beginning there is no battle of armageddon because the bible never says there is a battle of armageddon it just says in the book of revelation the 16th chapter is that they gather together in the valley of megiddo it never says they fight in the valley of megiddo it says they gather there keep your finger on the text read it thoroughly understand it they gather there they have to gather there because the great river euphrates has to dry up so the kings of the year of the east can make their way to the land of israel and they will gather in a place called megiddo the valley of megiddo it's called the valley of ezdralon but the battle doesn't begin there the battle begins in bozrah how do we know that we'll turn to isaiah 63 isaiah chapter 63 isaiah 62 is about the salvation of israel about how they're going to come to faith in the lord god of israel and salvation comes to them says in verse 11 behold his reward is with him and his recompense before him and they will call them the holy people the redeemed of the lord and you'll be called sought out a city not forsaken it's all about the salvation of israel and in isaiah chapter 62 and then in chapter 63 isaiah gets a vision you need to understand this who is this who comes from edom now in isaiah chapter 34 isaiah hears the word of the lord saying that he will descend on edom there is a slaughter set for edom why is that important hang on with me with garments of glowing colors from bozrah bozrah is the ancient capital of edom bozrah was known for the dying of garments important to understand so isaiah asks who is this coming from edom with the garments of glowing colors from bozrah this one who is majestic in his apparel marching in the greatness of his strength here's the answer it is i who speak in righteousness mighty to save why is your apparel red and your garments like the one who treads the wine press verse three i have trodden the wine trough alone and from the peoples there was no man with me i also trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath and their life blood is sprinkled on my garments and i stained all my raiment for the day of vengeance was in my heart and my year of redemption has come and i looked and there was no one to help and i was astonished there was no one to uphold so my own arm brought salvation to me and my wrath upheld me and i trod down the peoples in my anger and made them drunk in my wrath and i poured out their life blood on the earth that is a vision that isaiah has about the arrival of the messiah who has already descended upon bozeroth now why is that so important turning your bible to revelation chapter 12 i told you three weeks ago it's information overload you got to come every week to understand it revelation chapter 12 how many times have we told you that revelation 12 is a chapter that gives you the history of the world it begins at the beginning and takes you all the way to the end if you can master one chapter in the bible master revelation chapter 12 the bible says after the birth of the child verse 5 and she gave birth to a son a male child who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron and her child was caught up to god and to a throne that's the ascension of the messiah and the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by god said there she might be nourished for 1260 days the woman is israel it moves from the ascension and coronation of the messiah to heaven to the latter part of the tribulation because it emphasizes what satan is going to do in the tribulation the whole chapter is about satan's desire to kill the child to keep redemption from happening can't do it so he goes after the woman who is israel and the woman flees to the wilderness why is that important because in the testament the wilderness is always defined as edom and moab always and so when isaiah hears the word of the lord say that i have a sword that's filled with blood because i'm going to descend upon bozrah which is the ancient capital of edom which by the way is in the same vicinity of petra the red rose city in the rocks which we will be visiting here in just a few short weeks which is right next to bozrah which many people believe that israel will flee to petra and that's why they put bibles and hid them in the rocks of petra because they believe that israel will will flee to that red rose city in the rocks which is a secluded area maybe so maybe not but we do know that israel flees to the wilderness and petra is in edom and edom is always defined as the wilderness in the old testament so read on in revelation 12 and there was war in heaven michael and his angels waging war with the dragon and the dragon and his angels wage war and they were not strong enough and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven and the great dragon was thrown down the serpent of old who was called the devil and satan who deceives the whole world he was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him wow satan is still in heaven he's still there read the book of job he's cast out of heaven morally he's not cast out of heaven geographically yet he's not cast out of heaven geographically until the middle of the tribulation that's the way he's cast out verse 10 and i heard a loud voice in heaven saying now the salvation the power and the kingdom of our god and the authority of his christ have come for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down who accuses them before our god day and night and they overcame him because of the blood of the lamb and because of the word of their testimony and they did not love their life even to death for this reason rejoice so heaven and you who dwell in them woe to the earth and to the sea because the devil has come down to you having a great wrath knowing that he has only a short time in other words we talked to you in second Thessalonians 2 about the mystery of lawlessness we have no idea what that's going to be like because it's never been seen before but when seven when satan is cast down out of heaven in the tribulation he's cast down to earth and the mystery of lawlessness will be unveiled for all to see because he knows he only has a short time and then it says verse 13 and when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth that is satan he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child who's the woman that's israel and the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman in order that she might fly into the wilderness to her place where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time from the presence of the serpent the times and times and half a time is three and a half years or 1260 days as recorded earlier in 12 in revelation chapter 12 so god has a place for israel it's somewhere in the wilderness the wilderness is always edom and moab according to the old testament bozrah is the ancient capital of edom and god says i descend upon edom upon bozrah and when isaiah sees him coming from bozrah he sees his garments already stained in blood so the battle does not begin in armageddon it ends in armageddon it begins in bozrah in edom in the wilderness based on revelation 12 isaiah 34 isaiah 61 or 63 and then it says and the serpent poured out water like a river out of his mouth after the woman who's israel so she he might cause her to be swept away with the flood and the earth helped the woman and the earth opened his mouth and drank up and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth and the dragon was enraged with the woman and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring who keep the commandments of god and hold the testimony of jesus that is the gentile nations who believe in christ who are saved in the tribulation period and that's why the slaughter of christians in the tribulation is so great is because the mystery of lawlessness is no longer now a mystery it's unveiled because satan is now on earth presently he's not on the present he can't be everywhere at once he can only be at one place at one time and right now he's in heaven accusing the brethren day and night until he's cast out of heaven to earth and the mystery of lawlessness then is unveiled to those who are on the earth and jesus christ descends that's revelation chapter 19 revelation chapter 19 and i saw heaven opened and behold the white horse and he who sat upon it is called faithful and true and a righteous as he judges and wages war and his eyes are a flame of fire and upon his head are many diadems and he has a name written upon him which no one knows except himself he's clothed with a robe dipped in blood his name is called the word of god and the armies which are in heaven clothed in fine linen white and clean were following him on white horses and from his mouth comes a sharp sword so that with it he may smite the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron and he treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of god the almighty and on his robe and on his thigh his name written king of kings and lord of lords revelation 19 heaven opens not so you can get in so the king will be revealed to the world and the king returns in judgment right here he comes in judgment upon the nations he descends according to isaiah 34 isaiah 63 in the vicinity of bozerah because that's where isaiah sees him coming already with his garments stained with blood and so what he does is he descends to protect the nation of israel in his protection he destroys the nations of the world he makes his way up from that wilderness of edom to jerusalem and there he stands on the mount of olives and then there is that great judgment the judgment of the nations that takes place in the valley of jehoshaphat which we've already read in the kidron valley the valley of decision he makes his decision upon the future of man who's rebelled against him the believers will go into his kingdom the literal kingdom on the earth and he will rule and reign from mount zion and jerusalem for those thousand years when he comes back the bible says in the book of revelation the 14th chapter these words which i think is enlightening and this is where we will close verse 17 revelation 14 and another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven and he also had a sharp sickle and another angel the one who has power over fire came out from the altar and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle saying put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth because the grapes are ripe and the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of god all phrases illustrated in isaiah chapter 13 isaiah chapter 34 isaiah chapter 63 revelation chapter 19 and the wine press was trodden outside the city and the blood came out from the wine press up to the horse's bridles for a distance of 200 miles why is that significant because when the lord descends on edom edom is exactly 200 miles from esdralon or the valley of megiddo and the blood flows for 200 miles up to the horse's bridle because that's the extent of the slaughter when the king returns and that blood flows for 200 miles and that's the exact distance from edom to esdralon that's how we know where christ will return that's how we know what will happen do we know all the intricate details of that no we don't we just know what god gives us in his word all to say is that that return is scripturally defined very clearly it is unwisely debated and disbelieved it is passionately desired and universally displayed let me pray with you father we thank you for the word of god the truth that you have given to us that we might believe in the fact that jesus is coming again for truly lord we have been enlightened to your return we've been encouraged to anticipate your return and father we've been challenged to live in light of that return and our prayer lord is that every one of us would always look up for our redemption draweth nigh and we are to occupy until you come again may we do so with a joyful heart praising and living to the glory of god if there be one among us today that does not know you may today be the day of their salvation we pray in jesus name amen