Paul's Promise of Our Lord's Return, Part 1

Father, we thank you so much for the opportunity you give us to study your word. We realize, Lord, that it's probably been a very busy week for most people. All kinds of things happening at home, at work, wherever we may be, and things that need to get done, need to get done. And yet, Lord, we've taken some time in the middle of the week to study your word.

And our prayer, Lord, is that you would use this time to be so advantageous for us. Number one, because your word never returns void. Number two, because what we read and study in your word is going to help us understand the end. And Lord, it's so good to know the end. We don't have to worry about what's going to happen. We know what's going to happen. And while we don't know every detail, we do know your plan for the future. And that's all that matters.

And thank you, Lord, for giving us what you have, the details that we do have, so that we might be able to rest in the comfort of your word. And that, as we share the gospel with our unsaved friends, maybe there's a sense of urgency that will motivate us because we know the end is near. We know the Apostle Paul thought the end was near in his day. And you didn't come then. And all throughout history, all the great men of faith and women of faith have believed that you were going to come in their lifetime. You did not, but that's okay. They lived in anticipation of that.

And so, Lord, like those in Hebrews chapter 11, they all died in faith, having not received the promises, they were able to go home to glory and embrace all the truths that you gave them. And so tonight, as we study your word, enlighten us that we might be able to enlighten others as to the plan of the future and what you have in store, not only for us, but for the world. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Okay, if you got your Bible, we're in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. Looking at the day of the Lord and how it applies to the church, what we can learn. We understand that the cross is the apex of human history. Everything in the Old Testament pointed to Calvary. Everything in the Old Testament was moving toward God. Everything was about the cross, the coming of the Messiah that would die for the sins of his people.

Well, the climax of human history is the revelation of Christ, the return of the king. The climax tells us where we're going since the cross. And it's always good to know. And I've shared this with you before to help you understand the emphasis in scripture on prophecy because it is quite vast.

In fact, we know that prophecy occupies one-fifth of Scripture. And the Second Coming occupies one-third of that one-fifth. We also know that of the 333 prophecies, specific prophecies dealing with the coming of the Messiah, only 109 of them were fulfilled when he came the first time, leaving 224 then to be fulfilled when he comes again. We also know that of the 46 Old Testament prophets, less than 10 of them speak of the events in Christ's first coming, while 36 of them speak of events connected with his Second Coming.

There are a total of 1,500 Old Testament passages referring to the Second Coming. There are 7,900 verses in the New Testament, 330 of which refer directly to the second coming. In other words, one out of every 25 verses in the New Testament about the second coming of the Messiah. Next to the subject of faith, the subject of the second coming is the most dominant theme in the New Testament. For every time the first coming is mentioned in the Bible, the second coming is mentioned eight times. For every time the atonement is mentioned once, the second coming is mentioned twice.

The Lord refers to his return 21 times, and men are exhorted to be ready for the return of Jesus Christ over 50 times. And yet we find ourselves, as we said last week, still ignorant about the return of Christ, not coming to understand the implications of his coming again. That's why Paul would say in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, "We don't want you to be uninformed, brethren. We don't want you to be ignorant, brethren. We want you to have a comprehensive understanding of the coming of the Messiah."

And yet, in spite of all that the scripture gives us, you got to realize that there still will be many scoffers that will come. Peter said this way. If you have your Bible, you can turn to 2 Peter chapter 3. Peter said this. "This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you, in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder." Peter was one who wanted to remind people of truth. And so he wants to stir up their minds. He says, "I've written to you before about this. This is not something new. But by virtue of the fact, you need to remember. I'm going to remind you of something that I've already said." Why? Because of its supreme importance.

He says this. He says, "That you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles." In other words, what was in the Old Testament, what is in the New Testament, spoken by Christ and his apostles. "I want to remind you of what they said concerning the coming of the Lord, the day of the Lord."

There are 27 books in the New Testament. 23 of the 27 books all mention the second coming of Christ. The four - Galatians, Philemon, 2 John, and 3 John - two of them make inference to a second coming. And it's only Philemon and 2 John that have no reference at all to the second coming of the Messiah. So when you think about it, 25 of the 27 New Testament books deal some way, somehow, with the second coming of the Messiah. This is how important it is. It keeps us looking into the future. It keeps us looking upwards. It keeps our eyes off of what's happening around us and keeps them focused on who's coming for us. The Messiah himself. Very important to understand.

So Peter says that the Lord spoke of this, his apostles spoke of this. The Old Testament prophets spoke of this. "I'm going to remind you. Here's what he says. Know this, first of all, that in the last days, mockers will come with their mocking." Now what are the last days? The last days are the days that began with the arrival of the Messiah the first time and end with the coming of the Messiah the second time. Those are the last days.

As you recall, you can remember what Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 3: "know this that in the last days perilous times will come." He talks about the character qualities of the last days. And as you begin to read through what Paul says to Timothy, you would think that you're reading the headlines right off of the L.A. Times as to what's happening in our country. But Paul says these are the character qualities of the last days. This is what's going to happen before our Lord comes again.

So, Peter now is going to say to the people he is writing to to help them understand that in the last days, mockers are going to come. They're going to scoff at the arrival of the Messiah. They're going to make fun of those of us who believe that the Messiah is going to come again. They're going to make fun of those who have this weird idea that somehow Jesus is coming back.

But why are they going to scoff at us? Peter tells us. He says these words. He says they're going to follow after their own lusts. The reason they're going to mock the return of Christ is because they do it following after their own lusts. In other words, because of their own immorality. They love their sin. That's why people mock Christianity. They love their sin. Don't think for one moment that the unbeliever doesn't love his sin. Oh, he loves it immensely. He's enamored with his sin. All you got to do is read Romans chapter 1.

And therefore, because they know the truth, they want to suppress the truth and why. They do not want to be accountable to the living God. Man wants his autonomy. Man wants his independence. Man doesn't want to be held accountable to a supreme being, the holy God of the universe. And so, what does man do? He suppresses the truth. He denies the truth. He scoffs at the truth. He mocks the truth. Because he loves his sin, thinking that if somehow he mocks those who believe in the coming of the Messiah, that somehow maybe he won't come. And maybe I won't be accountable for my sin. I can live any way I want to live, but that's just not the case.

So, Peter lets these people know that in the last days, scoffers are going to come. And the reason they come is because they're following after their own lusts. They love their immorality. And then it says this. He says, "and saying, where is the promise of his coming?" Verse 4: "For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation." So they believe in uniformitarianism. That is, they've used the present to define the past. Because it's never really happened in our lifetime. It's probably never ever really happened before where there was some cataclysmic event. So, therefore, why would it ever come again? Why would it ever happen again? And so, they deny that Jesus is coming. And they are remiss in coming to grips with the fact that there is a king who is divine and has divine intervention in the history of the world.

And so, it says in verse 5: "For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of the water, and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by his word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men."

It escapes your notice of what took place way back in the book of Genesis with this global flood where God destroyed every creature that lived except those on the ark. Think about this. Remember way back in Genesis chapter 6, the Lord relented that he even made man. Because every thought of every man, and every intent in the heart of every man was only evil continually. How bad does the earth have to be for God to destroy everybody in it? Just look around the United States. Look around the globe today. Think of how bad things are, even as we speak. And you'd think that God would be done with that and say, "you know what, I'm coming and take my own home with me." But he hasn't yet.

Just think that during the days of Noah, during the flood, things were so bad, they were worse then than they are even now. It's hard for us to understand that. It's hard for us to grasp that. But the magnitude of that event where God judged the world and saved Noah and his family, and then began to repopulate the earth again. He destroyed it once with water. He's not going to do that again. He made a promise. That's why the rainbow is in the sky to remind us of the great promise of God. He'll never destroy the earth again with water, but he will destroy the earth again. But he's going to do it not with water. He's going to do it with fire. He's going to burn it up. And there's a reason for that. There's a reason why he's doing it that way. And tonight, you're going to come to understand that reason.

And so Peter goes on and says these words. He says in verse number 10, "but the day of the Lord will come like a thief." Now, the day of the Lord is what we're going to talk about: about that seven-year tribulational period between the rapture of the church and the revelation of the Christ. There is the day of the Lord. And then there is the great and terrible day of the Lord. It's a day of God's wrath. And in the weeks to come, we'll unfold that for you so you understand it, specifically as we get into the second chapter of 2 Thessalonians, so you understand the day of the Lord.

But 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." I would just love, I would love to have that sent to John Kerry, the great climate control czar in our country. I mean, I know we're - I mean, we're not, but the world's concerned about ecology and climate control and all that kind of stuff. But let me tell you something. This is God's earth, and He's going to burn it all up. He's going to destroy it.

Oh, and by the way, when you come into the tribulation period and you realize that a third of the population is destroyed here, and then a quarter of the two-thirds is destroyed here, and then half are destroyed here, and the earth is being burned up because fire is falling from the sky. Do you know how they're going to explain all that? Global warming. Think about it. The Antichrist is going to be being able to deceive the whole world. He's going to deceive them into believing the whole lie about global warming. So much so that half the population by the time Christ returns is going to be dead. And the plagues, think of all the plagues that are going to be happening during the tribulation. If you think you should wear a mask now, wait till the tribulation. You'll be wearing full bodysuits. You'll have oxygen on your back. You won't be able to stand the plagues that will take place during the tribulation period. It's going to be unbelievable.

But see, it's all called the day of the Lord, the day of God's wrath. This is how God is going to bring the end about. And then he says, this. "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?" Now the day of God is not the day of the Lord. The day of God is the eternal state. It's what the Apostle Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 15:28, where it says that God will be all in all. The day of God is the eternal state.

And it goes on to say this about that. He says, "Because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat. But according to his promise, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." That is the day of God. You can look on your chart, you can see at the end the new heaven and the new earth. That's the day of God where Christ is all in all.

But Peter talks about the fact that, listen, there's going to be mockers, there's going to be scoffers that are going to come, and they are truly going to laugh at you. But the bottom line is this: Jesus is truly going to come again. He is faithful and true, he's exactly true to his word. You see, our Lord is long-suffering. Our Lord is patient. We didn't read the verses in between where it talks about the long-suffering of our God, but He is. He was long-suffering during the days of Noah. So, when Noah was building the ark, they had 120 years to hear him preach about the judgment of God that was coming upon the world. That was going to rain, and God was going to destroy the world with the flood. But nobody believed. They mocked him. They mocked his family. They scoffed at the preacher of righteousness. But he still preached the truth. So important to grasp that.

Well, the same will be true with the second coming. Our Lord is long-suffering. Our Lord is patient. He is waiting for people to believe in him. He is waiting until that exact moment where he says, "My patience now is over." And we are hastening the coming of the day. We are looking forward to that day.

Think of it this way. We live in expectancy, right? We live in expectancy of Christ coming again. That expectancy will create in me an urgency that compels me to ministry. Expectancy about the return of Christ creates in me an urgency that compels me toward ministry. Listen, the reason we serve one another, the reason we serve the Lord, the reason we preach the gospel, is because we realize that Christ can come back at any time. And so it creates in me this urgency, this passion, this drive, so others will know about the coming of the Messiah.

And so when you read books like 1 Thessalonians, where each chapter ends with something about the return of Christ. In 1 Thessalonians 1:9, Paul says, "For they themselves report about us what kind of reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come."

You're waiting. You're not sitting around waiting reluctantly, you're waiting expectantly. And you do so because you know that the coming of the Lord is going to deliver you from the wrath that's going to come. It's called the day of God's wrath. And so at the end of chapter 2, you can read it for yourself at the end of chapter 3. End of chapter 4, end of chapter 5, Paul mentions something about the second coming of the Messiah. Now we know that when the letter was written, there were no chapter separations, all right? But that's how the translators put it in there. But you can read how much Paul talks about the second coming of the Messiah.

And so what you have is in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, Paul, knowing those in Thessalonica are going through adverse circumstances. He's going to bring them great comfort. He's going to console them amidst their adversity. We talked about this last week. And it began with Paul's praise. He praised them because of the excellence of their faith. He praised them because of the endurance of their faith, and he praised them because of the evidence of their faith.

But now that Paul has praised them, Paul is going to promise them that Jesus is going to come, and when he comes, he's going to bring relief to them and retribution upon their persecutors. Let me read it to you. 2 Thessalonians 1:6 says these words, "For after all, it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well, when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels and flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, 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 at among all who have believed, for our testimony to you was believed."

This is a revelation of his return. It is the apocalypsis, the unveiling, the uncovering of the return of Christ. That's what the book of Revelation is about. It's the uncovering of Christ the Messiah in his full glory. That's why it's called the revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul here says that Jesus is going to come. And when he comes, you receive relief, but the world receives retribution. They will be judged because of their unbelief.

And this is what John was able to understand in Revelation chapter 10 with the little book that was open. And he was told to eat the little book. And when he would eat it, it would be bitter and it would be sweet. Why? Bitter because of the horrible judgment. Sweet because God would be glorified. God would be honored and God would be lifted up. That's the way it is in 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10. There's bitterness here, there's sweetness here, because we know the Lord has said he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He compels man to come to him. He wants man to repent of his sin.

So as we look at this, remember, a study we're talking about Proverbs 29:18. "Without a revelation, the people" what? "They perish." Without the revelation of God, people perish. Without the truth of God, people will be unrestrained. So much so, they will end up dying, perishing. And so the warning comes: there's going to be a revelation of the Messiah. And when he comes, people will be destroyed, unfortunately.

And so when you go through the text, you realize that when Christ comes, He will be revealed in his full glory. Now think about this. When Jesus came the first time, when you looked at Jesus, you could not tell by looking at him that he was God in the flesh. He was just like every other Jewish man. He was - his glory was veiled in flesh. For thirty years, Jesus, after his birth, right, lived in Nazareth. No one knew he was the Son of God. You couldn't look at anything externally at Jesus and realize that he was the Son of God. In fact, there was nothing about him. I mean, you could walk with him in the streets of Galilee. You could weep with him in the Garden of Gethsemane. You could either be whipped alongside of him at Gabbatha, or at Gabbatha, the judgment hall, or even be with him where he was wounded on Golgotha. But none of that would ever make you think that he was God in the flesh because he looked like every other human being.

Now granted, he lived a sinless life. He never sinned. And all of his miracles were his messianic credentials. They were all confirmations of what was told in the Old Testament about what would happen when the Messiah would come. So all of his miracles, his entire message about the kingdom of heaven being at hand, and he was the king, was all about him being the Son of God. And yet, the Bible says in John chapter 1:10. These words about Jesus. John, the Gospel, chapter 1:10. "He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him."

Well, why did they not know him? Because his glory was encased in his flesh. On the Mount of Transfiguration, he would unzip his flesh and the glory would shine out, right? But other than that, you would look at Jesus and you would have no idea that he was the Son of God. That's why in Matthew 16, when Peter made that great confession, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus made it very clear. "Nobody revealed this to you. No man could do that. Only my Father in heaven could reveal this to you. Only because you trust in him do you believe that I am the son of the living God." Because there is nothing external about him.

So when he came in this humiliation, his glory was concealed. But when he comes the second time, everybody will know who he is. There will be no mistaking his identity. Everybody will realize who Jesus is. So, over in the book of Matthew, the 24th chapter, it says in verse number 29: "But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken." Why is that? It's going to be completely black all around the world. Why? It says, "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 they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of the sky with power and great glory."

It's going to be completely black. But then the sign of the Son of Man shall appear. What's the sign of the Son of Man? The sign is his glory. The brilliant brightness of his person. He will come and he will shine forth. And everybody will know who he is. And that's why in Revelation 19 it talks about the fact that on his garb is the words faithful and true. Why? Because he said, "I told you I was coming. I promised I was going to be here. I am true to my word. I'm faithful to everything I've said. And I'm back just like I said I was coming back."

And then over in Revelation chapter 1:7. It says, "Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. So it is to be. Amen." He's going to come. And when he comes as judge, everybody will see him. There'll be no mistaking his identity. When he came the first time, it was all concealed in his flesh. You look at him, he's just another Jewish man. Except he was a son of God. But when he comes again, he's not just a son of man, he is son of God, king of glory, and he comes in the beauty of that glory, the brightness of that glory. And he shines down because he's coming to judge the world.

Now, note this. His coming is going to be from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire. He's going to come from heaven. Why is that important? Well, if you remember back in the book of Acts, the book of Acts. After our Lord had spent 40 days after his resurrection talking to his men about things pertaining to the kingdom, it says in verse number 9. "He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while he was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? 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."

Very important statement. He's going to come back the same way he left. He left bodily. He will come back bodily. He left visibly. He will come back visibly. In other words, he's going to come back in the same manner, in the same way. Notice it doesn't say he's going to come back to the same place. I don't know how many prophecy people talk about the fact that Jesus, when he returns, is going to return to the Mount of Olives. No, he's not. If you read Isaiah 63, if you read Ezekiel 34, you realize he does not descend on the Mount of Olives. He will eventually come to the Mount of Olives, but he descends in a place in Edom, the ancient capital of Moab, a place called Bozrah, because that's where Isaiah sees him coming.

When Isaiah sees him in Isaiah 63. He asked the question, "who is this who comes with his garments stained in blood?" Bozrah, the ancient capital of Edom, was known for the staining of garments. Okay? So here comes the Messiah. When Isaiah sees him, the Messiah is coming from Bozrah. And his garments are already stained with blood. The battle has already begun. That's why on your chart, it's called the Battle of Bozrah. Not the Battle of Armageddon. The people who talk about the Battle of Armageddon, they got it wrong. There is no battle in Armageddon. The battle's already over. Because that's where our Lord returns, and that's where his garments are already stained with blood, and that's where he comes back to. That's just such a fascinating study.

For those of you who have been to Israel with me, you understand now why we go to Petra? Because Petra is 25 miles from the ancient capital of Edom, which is Bozrah, and that's where our Lord's going to return. And it's got great prophetic significance when it comes to the return of the king. So Acts 1, he says, he's going to come from heaven. He's going to come down the same way in which he left, visibly and bodily. But where is he now? Well, he's in heaven.

Remember Hebrews chapter 1? We always got to get back to Hebrews sometime. Hebrews chapter 1, it says, "This God, after he spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in his son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the world. And he is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature, and upholds all things by the word of his power. When he made purification of sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high."

He was exalted to the heavens when he ascended up into glory from the Mount of Olives in Acts chapter 1. He was exalted to the right hand of God the Father, having made purification for sins, having become that sacrifice for your sin and mine, having accomplished his reason for coming the first time, which was to die and rise again. He now is seated in the heavens at the right hand of God the Father. And we know that He's there making intercession for you and for me. He is our great advocate in heaven.

But when he comes again, he will come in the same way in which he left. Visibly and bodily. And when he comes, he's going to come with his angels. Why is he going to do that? Really, it's literally called the angels of his power. God has used angels in significant ways all throughout the scriptures. And they are the ones, if you read the book of Revelation, they're the ones who blow the trumpets, they're the ones who pour the bowls of judgment out, they are the ones who are involved in the great acts of judgment in the book of Revelation. But if you understand why they come, it's important.

So over in Matthew chapter 16. Matthew chapter 16, these words are spoken in verse 27. "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father and with his angels and will then repay every man according to his deeds." So when he comes, he is going to come with his angels. Back again to Matthew 24, it says in verse number 31. "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."

Did over in Matthew chapter 25. It says in verse 31: "But when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne, and all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will put the sheep on his right, and the goats on his left." You have the sheep-goat judgment, which is the judgment of the nations.

Now note this. Angels play a prominent part in God's judgment. Over in Matthew chapter 13, in the parable of the dragnet, these words are spoken by our Lord. Verse number 47, he says, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind. And when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach, and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

In other words, in the parables in Matthew chapter 13, the parable is all about the kingdom age and how it is that the seed of the word of God is going to be sown in the kingdom age and how people are going to respond to that gospel. And how there will be many tares that are sown among the wheat. In other words, tares and wheat look exactly the same, but you can't tell the difference until the harvest time. And at that harvest time where the angels separate them, he goes on and talks about the value of the kingdom by talking about the pearl of great price and the treasure that was hidden. But he also speaks about how the kingdom will spread through the mustard seed and the leaven, how it permeates every aspect of the world.

And yet, when it's all said and done, everybody's gathered together, and the angels are going to separate. And what they're going to do is they're going to cast those who do not believe to the fiery furnace. So God is going to use angels, He's going to come in judgment from heaven with His angels.

And then what's it say? It says very simply, in flaming fire. Why flaming fire? What is so significant about that? Well, someone would say, "well, because when he judges the world, he's going to burn it up." Well, that's not going to be until the end of the millennial reign of Christ. And yes, that's going to happen. So what is the fire? Let me suggest to you this way: the fire is emblematic of his presence and His punishment. First of all, his presence. This is very rich, very rewarding.

Remember way back in the book of Exodus? Moses saw a bush, and that bush was burning, but it wasn't consumed. And the fire in the bush would speak to Moses because God was in the fire. And when you go back to the book of Exodus, the 19th chapter, listen to what it says. Exodus chapter 19:18. "Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire." He's going to come back with his angels in flaming fire. So, when you go back to Exodus 3 with the burning bush, when you go back to Exodus chapter 19 on Mount Sinai, our Lord descended in fire.

"And its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently." And then, over in Deuteronomy chapter 5, it says, "The Lord spoke to you face to face at the mountain from the midst of the fire while I was standing between the Lord and you at the time to declare to you the word of the Lord, for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain." Why? Because of the fire.

The fire was representative of the presence of Almighty God. Because remember, his glory is the brightness of his presence. It is the manifestation of God in brilliant light. What's the light? The light is the fire of God. It's his presence. Now, remember, we talked to you on Sunday morning about how the word incarnate is equivalent to the word inspired? Remember that? Raise your hand if you remember that. Three of you. Good. Okay.

But the word incarnate is fire. The word inspired is fire. Jeremiah 23:29, "is not my word like a" what? "Fire." See that? He returns in flaming fire. Why? Because there's this purging effect, there's this burning effect that God Himself comes with all of His glory. His word is a fire. It purges, it burns away the chaff. And so the word incarnate in all of his glory is flaming fire. The word inspired, holding your hand, still flaming fire. Because it produces the effect that God wants it to produce.

So our Lord is going to come from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire. Remember, Hebrews Chapter 12:29. See, we're back in Hebrews again. Hebrews 12:29. "Our Lord is a consuming" what? "Fire." That's who he is. A consuming fire. That's why he dwells in unapproachable light. That's why no man can look upon him and live. They'll be incinerated. It'll be very easy for our Lord to incinerate the universe just by speaking a word because that's who He is.

Now, listen to this: He's going to come. He's going to bring relief to the believer. He's going to bring retribution to the unbeliever. He's going to repay them. And notice what it says: it is just, it is righteous that God do this. Absolutely righteous that God does it this way. That's why Paul begins this whole section about the vengeance of God by saying, "For after all, it is only just, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you and to give you relief." Our God is a righteous God.

In fact, Romans chapter 3:5 makes it very clear. That the God who inflicts wrath has no unrighteousness. The God who inflicts wrath has no unrighteousness. Over in Psalm 9:16, "God is known by the judgment He executes." In other words, when God executes his judgment upon man, that's when he's best known. Because there you see the holiness of God. There you see the holy wrath of God.

And if you were in the second service on Sunday, I told you that the greatest place that God demonstrated He is best known by the judgment he executes is when He executed His Son on Calvary. Right? When the sinless Son of Man bore your sin and mine in his body, and the father turned away, turned his back on his son. For those three hours of darkness, because the Bible says in Isaiah 53:10, that it pleased the Lord to crush his son. This was God's retribution. This was God's judgment upon your sin and mine. Because it was put on his son. And that's where God's holiness is seen. And so you begin to see that God is just.

The Bible says. What was the verse I wanted to read? Psalm 145:17. "The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his deeds." The Lord is righteous in all his ways. He's not righteous in just some of his ways and unrighteous in other parts of his ways. No, he is righteous in all of his ways. So whenever he enacts his judgment upon man, it is a righteous judgment. Because "the soul that sins, it shall" what? "It shall die." The wages of sin is what? "Death." You deserve to die. It's only because of God's mercy that you live. It's only because of God's grace that you're here this evening.

And that's why Abraham appealed to God in Genesis chapter 18. Based on his righteousness. Abraham knew that Sodom had to be destroyed. He knew it. It was wicked. God told him, but Abraham knew. But he also knew his nephew lived there, right? So he appealed to God based on the fact that he was righteous. And he appealed to God and said, "Listen, if there be 50 righteous in the city, will you spare the city?" God says, "You know what? I'll do it for 50." Abraham said, "How about 45?" God says, "I hear you. 45 it is. How about 40?" God says, "I'll do that. For 40 righteous people in the city, I'll spare the city. How about 30?" How about 30? And he keeps going down, down, down till he gets to 10 and God says, "you know, for ten, I'll spare the city." What if Abraham would have said, "Lord, if there be one righteous, will you spare the city? Will you spare those people?"

You see, Abraham knew that God was a righteous judge. And he appealed to him based on his righteous character. The Bible also says these words in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 45:21. "There is no other God besides me, a righteous God and a savior. There is none except me. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other." God tells Israel, "listen, I am a righteous God. And if I want to use Cyrus, who is a pagan king, and I want to use Cyrus, who is an unbeliever, who does not know me, I'm going to call him my Messiah, my anointed one. If I want to do that, I can do that because I am a righteous God. No other one who's righteous. I'm it. There's nobody else. And if I decide to do that, it's the righteous thing to do in order to spare you in days ahead." He wants them to understand that because he truly is a righteous God.

Remember Ezekiel chapter 34? Ezekiel 34. It says in verse number 17, "Your fellow citizens say, The way of the Lord is not right. God is not righteous. This can't be the best thing to do. God can't be righteous." God tells Ezekiel about what Israel says. "When it is their own way," God says, "that is not right. They're saying my way is not right, but in reality, their way isn't right. When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, then he shall die in it. But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live. Yet you say, the way of the Lord is not right? O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to your ways."

Don't question me. He says earlier in Isaiah 45, because Israel would question the fact as to why God would use a pagan king to accomplish his purposes. He says, "Woe to the man who quarrels with his Maker. Woe, cursed be the man who dares question Almighty God. Why would you even begin to question me? If you question me, you are damned. Don't do that." And so he says, "I am the righteous God. There's no other."

He tells Ezekiel, "you're a prophet. You're a watchman. You've got to warn man about impending judgment. That was Ezekiel's responsibility. He had to warn them of the coming judgment of God. And so he did. He says, "Listen, Ezekiel, you're my watchman. But if there's a man in sin and you do not warn him about the impending judgment that's going to come, then you're going to be responsible for his blood. But if there's a man who's living in sin and you warn him of impending judgment and he does not repent of his ways, his blood is not your responsibility. You've warned him. You've done your job. And therefore, I am a righteous God who enacts judgment upon man who lives in sin and will not follow my words."

That's why in the book of Matthew when John the Baptist began to preach, and remember he was baptizing everybody down in the Jordan there beneath Jericho. In the Jordan River, and everybody was from Jerusalem was coming down to be baptized. And the Pharisees decided to get in on the show as well because everybody was going down there, so they thought they would go down there. And so he said, "Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" What are you guys doing down here? And they wanted to see what was happening. And so he says, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" Wrath is coming. Who warned you guys?

"Therefore, bear fruit in keeping with repentance, and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, We have Abraham for our father, for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children of Abraham. The axe is already laid at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance. But he who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clear his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

In other words, he will burn up the chaff with fire that will never go out. John the Baptist was a preacher of righteousness, a preacher of truth. He was the greatest man ever born of a woman. He was the last of the Old Testament prophets and the first preacher on the scene in the New Testament. And he wanted to warn those people who lived a righteous life, so they thought, of the impending judgment of God.

Remember in Nazareth when Jesus began to stand up and speak when he was asked to speak in the synagogue that day in his hometown? And he read from Isaiah chapter 61 because he would speak about how this was the day of redemption, the day of Jubilee. He would read down through verse number one, but he would stop at verse number two because he would not read the phrase, "and the day of the vengeance of God." Because it wasn't that day. That day was coming. He'd come to release the captive. He'd come to set the prisoner free. He had come to be Israel's Messiah. He had come to die for the sins of the world. He came to offer his life as a sacrifice. It wasn't time for the day of vengeance, but the day of vengeance was going to come.

John the Baptist knew it was coming. John the Baptist didn't know when, but it was coming. And so he would warn the religious establishment of the impending judgment that was going to come. That's why the Apostle Paul said these words in Acts 17:30-31: "Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent because he has fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead."

Why does man need to repent? Man needs to repent because a righteous judge is going to judge the world. He's going to come. And the Father has granted the Son that judgment. And that judgment is called the Great White Throne Judgment. Believers will not be at the Great White Throne judgment. That's set aside only for the unbeliever. But the day of vengeance is coming. And so our Lord is going to arrive with his angels. He's going to come from heaven in flaming fire, and all the world will see him because he's going to judge those who have rebelled against him. And when he does it, it will be completely right because he is the God of righteousness.

Let me pray with you. Father, we thank you, Lord, for our time together this evening. We are reminded once again of the terror of the Lord. Paul would pray or say, "Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." Our prayer, Father, is that we, as your children, would understand more of that terror because we understand the day of vengeance, the day you're going to come again and judge those who have rebelled against you, who do not know you, who have rebelled against the truth of your word.

Our prayer, Lord, is for those who are here tonight that there will not be anyone here who has not turned from their sin and repented and given their life to Christ, that they would never have to face the horrible day of God's judgment. So, Lord, we pray and ask that, Lord, you'd come soon. As Paul said, "Maranatha, Lord Jesus, come quickly, Lord Jesus." That's our prayer for knowing that when you come, you'll take us home to be with you. And we will rejoice forever in your presence. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.