The King is Coming, Part 5

Pray with me for a moment, would you please? Father, we thank you for today and the great promise of your word that guarantees your future kingdom, that guarantees our future reign with you in that kingdom, that guarantees the whole world will bow before you in submission as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Today as we study once again that great event of the coming King and judgment, may our hearts be turned toward heaven that we would long to see the coming of the Son of Man. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.

If you have your Bible turn with me once again to Luke chapter 17. Luke chapter 17, we're discussing the coming of the King in judgment. We have told you four things up to this point. One, that the coming of the King is scripturally defined over and over again throughout the scripture. The Bible has defined for us the events surrounding the coming of the King. That's what made the question in verses 20 and 21 so, if you lack the phrase or excuse the ridiculous. Because they said where and when is the kingdom going to come?

The Pharisees asked that question. If they would have known the Old Testament and study it like they thought they studied it, they would have known the events surrounding the kingdom of God. And the Lord explains to them that it's an invisible kingdom at this point. It's one day going to be a visible kingdom. But unless you're a part of the invisible internal kingdom of God, you'll never be a part of the external physical kingdom of God. And yet everything surrounding the kingdom was scripturally defined.

And that's why number two, it is unwisely debated and unwisely disbelieved. People want to debate what God has clearly stated. I always wonder why people would want to debate what God has made so clearly obvious in the scriptures. But it's unwisely debated, unwisely disbelieved by a multitude of people that Jesus will ever come again. But he will. And so as he begins to unfold for us that visible kingdom, that literal kingdom of God where he will rule and reign on the earth, we saw in point number three that it will be passionately desired.

There's a passion in the life of the believer. And I trust you had that passion. Because that passion is an indication that you not only love the Lord, but that you know the Lord. Every true believer has an inner passion for the return of the king. And that's what Jesus says when he says in verse 22, 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.

There's this longing, there's this passion, there's this inner drive for the son of man to come again. So the king's coming is something that's scripturally defined, unwisely debated, and disbelieved, yet passionately desired. Then number three, we said that, or number four, excuse me, it is universally displayed.

Christ says in verse 23, and they will say to you, look here, look there. Do not go away and do not run after them. For just as the 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. Don't worry, it will be universally displayed. Everybody will see it. As the lightning shines across the sky and everybody sees that, so will everybody see the arrival of the son of man. So when someone says, look, he's over here, or look, he's over there, or his coming was secretive, or his coming was personal, don't believe them.

Because when the son of man comes in judgment, everybody will see him. And the unique thing about all that is when you read through the book of Revelation and you read the Old Testament, it's very clear that there is complete darkness in the world. Before Jesus comes a second time, the world will be completely dark.

In fact, the prophet Zechariah said it this way in Zechariah chapter 14, then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him, that's Revelation 19.11, and it will come about in that day that there will be no light. The luminaries will dwindle, for it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light. In other words, when Jesus comes again, when the Messiah, the King of Israel arrives, there is no luminaries, there are no stars to shine, or sun to shine, or moon to shine.

They'll be there, but they'll be all darkened. So when the arrival of the Son of Man comes, he comes in his brilliance, he comes in his beauty, he comes in the blazing glory of his nature. That's why when the Lord returns, it's going to be seen by all. We have already seen that the armies of the world will gather together in the place called Megiddo, there in the Jezreel Valley. They will make their way down to the Jordan Valley, down through the Judean wilderness. They will make their way down to Edom and Moab, to the place where Revelation 12, Israel will have fled.

And they will get there, but they will get there in pitch blackness. And as the Antichrist is about to unleash his fury upon the nation of Israel to wipe them out, the Son of Man will appear. That's why Isaiah 63 says, when Isaiah saw the Messiah, he was coming from Bozrah in Edom with his garments already sprinkled in blood, because he treads the wine press alone. To understand that, we know that the Lord will descend in all of his glory to Bozrah in Edom based on Jeremiah 49, Isaiah 34, Isaiah 63, Amos 1, Micah chapter 2, and Habakkuk chapter 3.

Now, all you need is one verse. That's a multiple of verses that help you understand that the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah. It's yet to happen. And so because Israel flees to the wilderness, and that is always Edom and Moab in the Old Testament, we know the location of where Israel will be when the Antichrist seeks to destroy them and the Son of Man appears with all of his glory. It will be universally displayed. Everybody will see the King coming. Revelation 19 verses 11 and following. And that was all the last three weeks or four weeks.

I've lost track. So let's go on to our next point. And that's this. The coming of the King in judgment is purposely delayed. It is purposely delayed. It says in verse number 25, but first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation before he is universally displayed for all the world to see.

Something must happen first. He must suffer. He must. It's a phrase that speaks of the crucifixion of the Messiah. Now remember, the Jews missed this. They didn't get the whole thing about their Messiah dying. Although it was clearly presented in the Old Testament, Jesus would come and he would just reiterate what the Old Testament said. You can read about it in Luke chapter 9, verse number 22. Luke chapter 9, verse number 44. Luke 12, verse number 50. Luke 13, verse number 33. And then in the future, Luke 18, 31 to 33.

Christ prophesies his death. Why? Because when you come to Luke chapter 24, after he's been resurrected, he talks to the two men, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and says clearly that all the things that Moses said, that the prophets said, he reiterated. Because it was all forecast in the Old Testament. It was all prophesied so everybody would know. And so Christ says, listen, before the Son of Man is universally displayed, before his kingdom comes, he must suffer.

He must die. And then he must be rejected by this generation, Genea, this nation. He must be rejected by the nation of Israel. Now this becomes very important because before Jesus comes again, the second time, not only must there be a crucifixion, there must also be a rejection.

And there must also be a salvation of Israel. The king does not come in all of his glory until Israel is saved. Based on Zachariah's prophecy, Zachariah 12, 13, and 14, and what Peter says in Acts chapter 3. So if you got your Bible, turn to Acts chapter 3 with me for a moment. Remember in Acts chapter 3, this is Peter's second sermon.

They heal a lame man at the city gate. And it was quite a miracle. And the Bible says in verse 11, and while he was clinging to Peter and John that it's the man that was healed, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico solemn and full of amazement.

But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, men of Israel, that's a phrase for the Jewish nation. Why do you marvel at this? Or why do you gaze at us as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? You see, they had not seen a miracle of this stature since the Messiah. So it's been at least 50 days since they've seen something miraculous. They haven't seen anything. All of a sudden, this lame man is healed. It's a miracle. And they're amazed. And Peter says, why are you guys amazed? You think we did this?

We didn't do it. He says in verse number 13, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant, Jesus, the one whom you delivered up and disowned in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him. But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of Life. It's almost like a play on words. The phrase Prince of Life is a phrase that means originator of life or author of life. In other words, you disowned the Holy One.

You disowned the Righteous One. You delivered up the Messiah for Barabbas. We know that story. You delivered up the Prince of Life. You put to death the one who is the originator of life. And then he says this, you put to death the Prince of Life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. In other words, we have witnessed the fact that Jesus, the Messiah, the Holy Righteous One, has been raised from the dead. And on the basis of faith in his name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know.

And the faith which comes through him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that as Christ should suffer, he has thus fulfilled. So Peter is going to reiterate, listen, what you did by disowning the Holy and Righteous One, by delivering up the Holy and Righteous One, what you did was fulfill everything the prophets had foretold.

You were part and parcel to the prophecy that everything that the Old Testament said was now fulfilled in Jesus, the Messiah. That's pretty powerful. But he also says this, God fulfilled this. This is God's plan. You fulfilled God's plan. That does not excuse Israel. That makes him just as guilty. But God used the sinful acts of man to accomplish his great purpose for his son, the Messiah. Now listen carefully. Verse 19, repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away. You need to repent.

You need to realize what you have done, that your sins may be wiped away in order that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. That phrase, the times of refreshing, is a phrase directly related to the kingdom of God. You need to repent. You need to return so all your sins are wiped away. When that happens, the times of refreshing that will come because of God's presence among you will happen. In other words, the kingdom will be restored. In the book of Joel, it's called the time of satisfaction.

In the book of Ezekiel, it's called the showers of blessing. Peter calls it the time of refreshing. It comes from the presence of God among you. So if you repent and you return and your sins are wiped away, guess what? The kingdom comes and the king rules. It says, verse 20, and that he may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you. In other words, if you repent and you return and your sins are wiped away, he will send Jesus to you. But until you do that, he's not coming. That's why the kingdom is purposely delayed.

It says, verse 21, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things. Again, that's the phrase for the kingdom of God. Paradise regained. That's what the restoration is. That's what the kingdom of God is. It's the kingdom of God on earth. It's when the king rules. And so paradise can't be regained until Jesus comes. Jesus is not going to come until you repent and return so your sins are wiped away. So the coming of the king in judgment is purposely delayed until the crucifixion, which has happened at that time in Luke 17.

It hadn't happened yet because that was all foretold by the prophets of old, until the rejection of Israel, which is what they're doing right now, until the salvation of Israel. And then the king will come. Now we're not talking about the rapture of the church. That's a completely different event. We're not talking about the translation of the church into glory. That's an imminent part of the coming of God. That's something that triggers everything else that's going to take place in Revelation 6 to 19.

We're waiting for Christ to come and take us home to be with him. When that happens, that triggers everything else that's going to happen in Revelation 6 to 19. But during that tribulation period, that's why the tribulation is called the time of Jacob's trouble. The tribulation is designed for Israel. It's designed to purge out two-thirds of that nation and to bring one-third of them in according to Zechariah 13 verse number 8.

That's what the tribulation is designed to do and it will accomplish that. It will accomplish other things as well, but it's specifically designed to be the time of Jacob's trouble. And so you read on, verse 22, Moses said, In other words, that's the fulfillment of Deuteronomy chapter 18. Moses said, there's going to come a prophet greater than me. And that prophet, that seer, is the Messiah. And it's one of the passages in the Old Testament that prophesies about the Messiah being a prophet. That's why so many times it was asked, are you the prophet?

Is this the prophet? Is this the one that was promised back in Deuteronomy chapter 18? One greater than Moses. Peter reiterates that and says, yep, this Jesus whom you delivered, whom you disowned, is that prophet that Moses spoke about in Deuteronomy chapter 18, verse number 15 and verse number 18. The Bible is so incredibly clear. Verse 24, Now here it is, verse 25, Wow, what a powerful statement. You would think that Peter would say, you know, you rejected your Messiah, you disowned him, you delivered him.

Okay, God's done with you. It's over. It's too late. Nothing else is going to happen with you ever again. But he doesn't say in this verse, it is you who were the sons of the prophet. He says, it is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant, the covenant specifically which God made with your fathers, that unconditional, irrevocable covenant that God has sworn that in his faithfulness he will fulfill to his people. Listen carefully. I'm going to make a pretty bold statement here. When you believe the church replaces Israel in the future, you deny the character and nature of God and his faithfulness.

Be careful where you go with that. Be very careful about that. Because God made an irrevocable, unconditional covenant based on his word that he is true and that he is faithful. And he will fulfill that. Just be careful about going around doubting the character and nature of God. I don't want to do that. I want to make sure that what God says is true is true.

And I'm believe what he says. If God says I made a covenant, it's unconditional, it's irrevocable, that means it's going to be fulfilled.

And God made that promise because he says God raised up his servant for you Israel first. You're the priority. He raised him up for you first because he wants to turn every one of you from his wicked ways.

That's what he wants to do. So we see now what happens. And if you go back to the book of Zechariah, it's very important that in Zechariah 12 verse number 10, he says, I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on me whom they have pierced and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son. And they will weep bitterly over him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. When is that going to happen?

That's going to happen somewhere in the middle of the tribulation when Israel flees to the wilderness. Remember there are two witnesses in the tribulation, two witnesses, Revelation 11, one like Moses, one like Elijah, two witnesses that fire comes out of their mouth so that whenever somebody comes to take them down, they burn them up. Boy, that's going to be something, some sight to behold. That's in Revelation chapter 11. And what happens in Revelation chapter 11 is so unique because the Antichrist goes against him.

So the abomination of desolation has already taken place. The Antichrist goes against them and what he does is he slays them. You read about in Revelation 11. And their bodies lie on the streets of Jerusalem for three days and they are not allowed to be buried because the Antichrist wants the whole world to see that these guys who brought terror to every man by killing everybody he tried to take him down, he could destroy, meaning that he must be God because he's more powerful than they are. And the Bible says that the whole world will see that those two witnesses are dead.

And after three and a half days, guess what happens? God raises them up. God raises them up. Revelation 11, let me read it to you.

This is so incredibly cool. I wish I was there to see it. I'm going to be in heaven, but I wish I was there. I can read it out though. Revelation 11, and it says these words, verse 8, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. By that time, Jerusalem will be called Sodom. It will be called Egypt. It's no longer God's city because it's been inhabited by the Antichrist and all of his cohorts. And those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.

And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and they will send gifts to one another because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. Remember that phrase we told you earlier? The phrase, those who dwell on the earth is a phrase particularly designed in the old, in book of Revelation 10 times for those who are unbelievers. The biggest party the world has ever seen happens in the tribulation. They are so glad that these two witnesses are dead, they send gifts to one another.

Can you imagine that? The world is so desperately desiring to receive gifts. They'll, they'll jump at it anytime they can. And now that these two witnesses are dead, they're going to send gifts to one another in celebration that these two guys are done. Then it says, and after verse 11, three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them and they stood on their feet and great fear fell upon those who were beholding them. You bet. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, come up here.

And they went up into heaven in the cloud and their enemies beheld them. And in that hour, there was a great earthquake and a 10th of the city fell and 7,000 people, not just any people for the Greek text says 7,000 names of men meeting prominent men were killed in the earthquake and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. Who's the rest? That's Israel. They gave glory to God. It's at that time that revelation 12 talks about how the Antichrist goes after them and they flee to the wilderness for three and a half years, 1260 days from the presence of the Antichrist.

And God protects them. God's prepared a place for them. Revelation 12 says it's at that time that Israel's Israel is saved. It's at that time they were realized that the one whom they pierced was their Messiah was God in the flesh and they will be saved. That's why Zechariah 13, one then says, if you go back to Zechariah 13 verse number one, it says in that day, a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for impurity.

That's the salvation of Israel. If you go on in verse number eight, it says, and it will come about in all the land declares the Lord that two parts in it will be cut off and perish, 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. And I will say, they are my people. And they will say, the Lord is our God. And in chapter 14, the Messiah returns. You see that it is purposely delayed because of the crucifixion of the Messiah, the rejection of Israel, and now the salvation of Israel and revelation 14 says that the King returns. We know based on Isaiah 34, Isaiah 63, those other verses I gave you later that he returns to Bozrah and Edom. He makes his way up to the Judean wilderness up to Jerusalem.

Zechariah 14 says at that time, he stands on the Mount of Olives, splits the Mount of Olives. Then you have Matthew 25, the great judgment of the nations. He puts a sheep on his right, the goats on his left, judges them and goes into his kingdom because now the kingdom can come. Why? Because Israel has repented. Israel has returned and the son of man now comes in all of his glory. It's purposely delayed. Then, then point number five or six, which one is it? Six, one, two, three, four, five, six. You're right.

It's number six. It is unexpectedly and catastrophically dispatched. Unexpectedly and catastrophically dispatched. Remember, we're not talking about the chronology of events in Luke 17. That's Luke 21. This is just the one event of the King who comes in judgment to establish his kingdom on earth because that's the question that was asked him in verses 20 and 21. He comes unexpectedly, verse 26, and just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it shall be also in the days of the son of man. They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given a marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all.

It was the same as happened in the days of Lot. They were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building. But on the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the son of man is revealed. Wow. Unexpectedly dispatched, catastrophically dispatched. It will be just like it was in the days of Noah. How was it in the days of Noah? Every thought and intention of man's heart was evil continually.

As it was in the days of Noah, as the sons of God, fallen angels, cohabitated with the daughters of men, trying to produce a demon half-breed race. As it was in that day, so it will be in the days of the coming man. Because we know according to Revelation chapter 9, that angels that have been reserved for judgment had been let loose. We saw last week in Revelation 12, 12 verse number 10, that Satan has been cast down to the earth. So as demonic as it was in the days of Noah, so it too will be demonic in the days of the coming of the son of man.

And when God looked at that nation, and at that time there were probably six to eight million people on the earth in Genesis chapter 6, 7 and 8. So how do you know that? People lived a long time back then. They lived a long time. No TVs, no movies, no sporting events. There were a lot of kids born in those days. And so they had millions of people and they were all destroyed except for eight souls. Eight souls, Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives. They lived. They went to the ark. They were preserved.

They were protected to begin the human race all over again. Okay. But as it was in the days of Noah, as it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, how was it in that day? Again, a day of wickedness, a day of wretchedness, a day of vileness. When Sodom and Gomorrah, you can go there today, not see it, but you'll see the effects of Sodom and Gomorrah there in the area of the Dead Sea where it once was, was completely destroyed with fire and brimstone. God destroyed it all because of their sodomy, because of their homosexuality.

They were so wicked, so vile that when these two angels came to rescue Lot, his wife and his kids, they, the men of the city, came after these two angels and God struck them blind, but that didn't turn them away. In spite of their blindness, they would still pursue the door of Lot to get into his house to get these two men. That's how wicked, how vile it was in those days. And so it will be in the days of the Son of Man. It will be filled with filth and vileness and wickedness and demonic activity.

So it will be in those days as well. That's how men will be living. It will be in the days of the Son of Man as it was in the days of Noah, where Noah was a preacher of righteousness for 120 years. Noah preached. He built a boat in the middle of a desert with no water and no trees. And he built this boat. That's why it took him so long to build it. And he kept preaching. The Bible says he was a preacher of righteousness, warning people, warning them about impending judgment.

And nobody believed. And when Noah went to the ark, God shut the door. God had to shut it because if Noah would have shut it, he'd opened it again. But God shut it so it couldn't be opened. And everybody was killed, but they were warned as it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. Those people too, they were warned because the Bible says in 2 Peter that Lot was a man of righteousness.

And so as a righteous man, he would portray the righteous character of God himself. So there was warning, just like it was in the days of the Son of Man. According to Revelation 7, there's 144,000 Jewish evangelists that preach the gospel that God protects, that God preserves. In fact, when you come to Zechariah 14, they're on Mount Zion. They made it all the way through the tribulation because God has sealed them. He sealed them so they would witness. There were the two witnesses in Revelation 11, one like Moses, one like Elijah, who when they spoke, fire came from the mouth and devoured all those who wanted to kill them, but they preached the gospel.

They died, raised again, three and a half days later, went up into glory. There's an angel, according to Revelation 14, that flies around the midheaven preaching and proclaiming the eternal gospel of God. That is a supernatural event. That's not a plane that flies around in midair. That's not a satellite that speaks about the Messiah. It is a literal angel, a messenger of God, that flies around in midheaven proclaiming the eternal gospel, as it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, as it was in the days of Noah.

So it will be in the days of the Son of Man. There will be plenty of preachers. There'll be plenty of warning about impending judgment, that you need to repent, that you need to return and be saved, but people will not listen, just like they didn't listen in the days of Noah, just like they didn't listen in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, and judgment fell. Eight souls were saved in the days of Noah. Three were saved in the days of Lot. Lot, his two daughters. Yes, his wife would flee with him, but there's something unique about that story, and we'll talk about that next week.

When that little phrase comes up, remember Lot's wife, because she was guaranteed an opportunity to escape judgment, but she did not escape it, because in her heart, there was something that was more important to her than obedience to God, as it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, as it was in the days of Lot, so it will be in the days of the coming Son of Man. Did you notice what it said?

It said, very simply this, they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage. Then it says, in the days of Lot, they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building. In other words, in spite of all the overwhelming signs, they are completely indifferent to what's happening. They could care less. Their temporal pleasures of marriage, eating, drinking, building, buying, and selling will be more important to them than the judgment of God, and that judgment will come unexpectedly and catastrophically upon their lives.

And the amazing thing about that is that through all the seal judgments and all the trumpet judgments and all the bowl judgments, according to Revelation 6 through 19, that take place, man is not affected in his heart. His body is being burned by the sun. According to Revelation 16, he's bit off the end of his tongue to redirect the pain from the outer part of the body to the inner part of the body. And the Bible says, they will not repent.

As it was in the days of Noah, as it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, so it will too be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. Nobody's going to care. Nobody cares. Two witnesses are dead. They're gone. Let's buy some more. Let's eat some more. Let's sell some more. Let's get married. That's all they care about. And maybe that's you today. We're preaching on the coming judgment of God. You're like, let's go buy something. Let's go sell something. Let's go get married. Who cares? That's so far in the future.

Who knows when the Son of Man is going to come again? And the things that are most important to you is what you're going to buy today, what you're going to sell today, when you're going to get married, when you're going to eat, what you're going to eat, when you're going to drink. All those temporal, physical pleasures are more important to you than the coming of the Son of Man. Be careful, because that's an indicator that Jesus doesn't rule supremely in your life. That's an indicator you just don't care.

You're indifferent. You're apathetic to the coming of the Son of Man. But we passionately as believers desire it. You say, how can they not believe? I mean, we can look at our lives and say, well, yeah, I can see why people today wouldn't believe, but in those days when you read the book of Revelation and you read it and you think, wow, that's just so way out there.

How come people, this one third of the world dying, or one quarter of the world dying, then one third of what's left dying, okay?

So half of the globe is dead, and people are living in excruciating pain, and demonic activity is rampant all around the half of the globe that's still alive, and the water is turned to blood, so you can't drink the water. The illuminaries go out, so you can't see anything. Don't you think that people would get the message and say, you know what? There's something supernatural happening here. There must be a God who rules. I better give my life to him. You'd think that would be the case, right? But Jesus said, if they don't believe Moses and the prophets, they won't believe they'll want to be raised from the dead.

There is no supernatural miracle that will convince anybody to be saved. It's this book right here, that's it. It's the word of God, because everything he said is true. Do you believe that? I trust that you do. Let me pray with you.

Father, thank you for today and all that you've done. Thank you for explaining to us in your word the beauty, the beauty of your kingdom. When you come, it will be devastating. It will be catastrophic, but you have warned us, and for that, Lord, we are grateful. May there not be one person among us today who does not heed the warning of your impending judgment. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.