The Presence of Christ is the End, Part 2

We are looking at the greatest event in the history of the world the return of Jesus Christ our Lord To set up his kingdom and to rule and reign Behind me you'll have a chart in your hands You had the same chart so you can follow with me very easily this morning We're in Luke chapter 21 and 21 verse number 25 It is a parallel account to Revelation 6 verses 12 to 14 but the disciples did not know about Revelation 6 12 to 14 because that didn't happen till 96 AD when John was on the Isle of Patmos, but we have Revelation 6 and Luke chapter 21.

It is the presence of Christ, which is the end Let me read it to you and then we'll spend our time discussing it with you this morning revelation I'm sorry Luke 21 verse number 25 and There will be signs in sun and moon and stars and upon the earth dismay among nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world For the powers of the heavens will be shaken and then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great Glory, but when these things begin to take place Straighten up and lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing near Luke's account Luke chapter 21 is Parallel to Matthew's account in Matthew 24 and 25 and also Mark's account in Mark chapter 13 It's all about the return of Jesus Christ to the earth It's all about the response to a question that was asked by the disciples what will be the sign of the end of the age What will be the sign of your presence?

How will we know and so what Christ does is give them some predictions around the end? those predictions some of them have Taken place in what we call the Church Age right there that Church Age Began with some there are there are not not began But there were earthquakes and there were famines and there were wars and rumors of wars But that's not exactly all that Christ is talking about. He's talking about specifically this period right here called the seven-year tribulational period consisting of seven seals Seven trumpets and seven bowls.

We've told you about that. It's recorded in the book of Revelation All right and so what Christ is saying is that toward the end there will be Earthquakes and famines and wars and rumors of wars all kinds of pestilence things will happen There will also be persecution because that will happen at the end. And yes, there was persecution during the Church Age We saw that as we went through the text together But the persecution of believers will be enhanced during the tribulational period so that you will understand that during that time People will actually lose their heads because of their faith in Jesus Christ our Lord And so Christ talks to them about the prediction surrounding the end talks about talks to them about the persecution That's going to happen at the end and then he gives them the peril that will take place Near the end and that peril is the abomination of desolation.

It's not on this map, but it's on yours okay, it should be in red right here in the middle of the tribulational period because Jesus says that these words in verse number 20 when you see Jerusalem Surrounded by armies then recognize that her desolation is at hand.

What is her desolation? What are the days of vengeance they were spoken of as Christ says by the prophets of old?

Well, if you read Matthew's account, you realize that it happens right in the middle of tribulation It's called the abomination of desolation Spoken of by Daniel the prophet in Daniel 9 verse number 27. That's a specific event. That's going to happen Christ says you want to know the signs you want to know the end of the age?

This is how you know, it's coming when you see the abomination of desolation taking place Then you know the end is near and then he says you got to run You got to flee to the mountains and if you parallel that with Revelation chapter 12 You realize that Israel does run they do flee and God in a supernatural way Puts them on the wings of an eagle and they are able to escape to the wilderness and so we know that happens in the middle of the tribulation at the abomination of desolation and the next three and a half years or twelve hundred sixty days are The escalation of tribulation called the great and terrible day of the Lord The tribulation is called the day of the Lord, but the latter half is called the great and terrible day of The Lord, okay So Christ has covered all that up to this point and then he says these words Which we just read to you in verse number 25 and there will be Okay, it's a sequence of events What's going to happen is going to happen this way.

There will be this peril at the end It was spoken of by the prophets of old and then there will be There'll be catastrophic signs in the skies Unlike the world has ever seen and it begins to tell them to us We've told you before that this tribulational period Consists of seven seals seven trumpets and seven bowls the seven seals Span the entire tribulational period they happen over the seven years When the seventh seal is broken seven trumpets blow The seven trumpets happen over weeks and months and Then the seven bowls are poured out at the very end and they happen over days and weeks That's the end.

That's what the book of Revelation tells us. That's how it happens Crisis telling us listen. I want to give you the sign you asked for a sign you asked What will be the sign of your presence? I'm gonna tell you what that sign is I'm gonna tell you when you need to flee Because when you need to flee is gonna has been spoken of by Daniel the prophet and now He tells them about that specific sign speaking of these vast cosmic catastrophes and as he reads this like I left off with you last week the question comes why is it why is it that the disciples Never asked the question about Explain this to us How come we don't understand we never heard this before Can you please explain this to us?

Can you please go into greater detail because this is new to us They didn't say that Because it wasn't new to them They didn't say that because they already knew about it How do they know I? Told you before you can't sell the Jews short on what they already knew Remember they grew up in the synagogue They had the Old Testament read to them all the time. They knew about the end How did they know turn me in your Bible to Isaiah chapter 13? I'm gonna tell you what they knew as Jews And I'm gonna read to you a lot of scripture today and show you how it all parallels together So you understand the end of the age that the presence of Christ is the end Okay, that's what we're talking about.

The presence of Christ is the end In Isaiah chapter 13 listen what it says the verse number six remember these are Jews who grew up in the synagogue reading the Old Testament Reading it every single day Reading it for hours on end every single day So they would know Isaiah 13 which says Wail for the day of the Lord is near it will come as destruction from the Almighty Therefore all hands will fail 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 of flame Behold the day of the Lord is coming cruel with fury and burning anger to make the land Desolation and he will exterminate its 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 Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity I all I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and obeys 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's host In the day of his burning anger You see they knew that So when Jesus speaks about men fainting from fear when Jesus speaks about this great cosmic Catastrophe their minds automatically go back to Isaiah chapter 13.

They go back to Isaiah chapter 24 verses 1 & 2 behold the Lord lays the earth waste devastates it distorts its surface and Scatters its inhabitants and the people will be like the priest the servant like the master and the maid like her mistress The buyer like the seller and the lender like the borrower and the creditor like the debtor The earth will be completely laid waste and Completely despoiled for the Lord has spoken this word the earth mourns and withers The world fades and withers the exalted of the people of the earth fade away The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants for they transgressed laws Violated statutes broke the everlasting covenant Therefore a curse devours the earth and those who live in it are held guilty Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men are left you see they understand this They know what the prophet Isaiah said They know what he said in verse number 18 of Isaiah 24 Then it will be that he who flees The report of disaster will fall into the pit and he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare For the windows above are open and the foundations of the earth shake the earth is broken asunder The earth is split through the earth is shaken violently The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard and it totters like a shack for its transgression is heavy upon it And it will fall Never to rise again so what happened in that day that the Lord will punish the host of heaven on high and the kings of the earth on the Earth and there will be gathered together like prisoners in the dungeon and will be confined in prison and after many days They will be punished then the moon will be abashed and the Sun ashamed For the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion in Jerusalem and his glory will be before his elders again very familiar verses to Jewish people so when Jesus begins to address this in Luke 21 about the sign of the end of the presence of the Christ They're not saying explain that to us could you go into a little bit more detail about that for us They've already heard it.

It's been read to them. They've studied it. Look what it says over in Joel chapter 2 Joel chapter 2 verse number 30 and I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth blood fire and columns of smoke The Sun will be turned into darkness in the moon of the blood Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes and it will come about that whoever calls in the name of the Lord will Be delivered for on Mount Zion in Jerusalem there will be those who escape as the Lord has said even among the survivors whom the Lord calls for behold check the Three verse number one for behold in those days and at that time when I restore the for the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat And then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of my people and my inheritance Israel Whom they have scattered among the nations and they have divided up my land verse 15 of chapter 3 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 Zion my holy mountain So Jerusalem will be holy and strangers will pass through it no more Again, very familiar verses to Jewish people.

They understood the Old Testament They understood the darkening of the moon the Sun not shining the earth shaking violently the stars falling Look what it says over in the book of Ezekiel Ezekiel chapter 38 verse number 19 and in my zeal and in my blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel and the fish of the sea the birds of the heavens the beasts of the field all the creeping things that Creep on the earth and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at my presence the mountains also will be thrown down the steep pathways will collapse and Every wall will fall to the ground and I shall call for a sword against him on all my mountains Declares the Lord God every man's sword will be against his brother and with pestilence and with blood I shall enter into judgment with him and I shall rain on him and on his troops and on the many peoples who are with Him a torrential rain with hailstones fire and brimstone and I shall magnify myself Sanctify myself and make myself known in the sight of many nations and they will know that I am the Lord again very familiar verses to Jewish people And so when Jesus begins to address all this They don't question anything.

He says they knew Zephaniah chapter 1 Nears the great day of the Lord near and coming very quickly Listen the day of the Lord in it the warrior cries out bitterly the day of wrath is that day a day of trouble and distress a day of Destruction and desolation a day of darkness and gloom a day of clouds and thick darkness a day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities and the high corner towers and I will bring distress on men So that they will walk like the blind because they have sinned against the Lord and their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung Neither the silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord's wrath and all the earth will be devoured in the fire of his jealousy for he will make a complete in indeed a Terrifying one of all the inhabitants of the earth That's why they didn't ask any questions They knew what Jesus has said up to this point Jesus had already told them he's going to die.

He's already told them he's going to rise again He's already told them he's going to come back again. He's going to leave them and come back again So their question is what will be the sign of the end of the age? Tell us what will be the sign of your presence among us? What will we look for? What will we need to know? So Jesus tells them he gives them the general predictions about the end he gets a little bit more specific when he talks about that specific peril at the end the abomination of desolation that takes place in the middle of tribulation where they need to flee and they need to run and Then he tells them everything that's going to happen right here with the Prince of Christ at the end This is very important.

Now. We know the Bible says that no man knows the day nor the hour But everybody will know the time Did you get that?

No man knows the day nor the hour, but everybody will know the time Everybody will you say well if they know the time Then why don't they repent? Remember we told you book of 2nd Thessalonians God sends them a strong delusion so they can't repent Others hearts are so hardened that they won't repent But how do we know that? Everybody will know the time Terming your bow to Revelation chapter 6 Revelation chapter 6 When you come to Revelation chapter 6 you have the sixth seal that's broken When your sixth seal is broken you're near the end because the next seal is a seventh seal which unleashes the seven trumpets that blow and they happen in months and weeks and Then you have at the seventh trumpet being blown Seven bowls seven saucers being poured out the bowls of wrath and Revelation chapter 16 and they happen in days And weeks maybe hours and days not even weeks They happen in rapid succession one after another It will explain that to you in a moment Revelation 6 verse number 12 and that looked when he broke the sixth seal and there was a great earthquake and the Sun became black as sackcloth made of hair and the whole moon became like blood and The stars of the sky fell to the earth as a fig tree cast its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind and The sky was split apart like a scroll When it is rolled up and every mountain and island were moved out of their places Why was every mountain and every island moved out of its places?

You see what's gonna happen at the end of the tribulation before Jesus comes all these earthquakes all the splitting of the earth Jesus is restoring the earth back to the way it was in Genesis chapter 1 where there were no mountains It was just a earth with no mountains whatsoever And so he's gonna make sure every mountain flees away It's gonna be like it was in Genesis 1 because the king is gonna come he's gonna set up his kingdom we don't and The kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and every free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains and They said to the mountains and to the rocks fall on us and hide us from who?

The presence of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb For the great day of their wrath has come and who is able to stand Notice they're not saying.

Oh, wow Look at the ozone layers Falling apart because we weren't really good at taking care of all the gas that we put in cars and all the hairspray We used on our hair Then I say anything like that Because none of that matters It's the wrath of the Lamb and everybody knows I see here's the here's the unique thing they want to die But they can't die They want to die but they can't Because the Lord's not going to let them die They want the rocks to fall upon them so they can escape the wrath of the Lamb Not knowing that upon their death they enter into the place of the dead will be Resurrected and here at the great white throne judgment.

They will face the wrath of the Lamb They don't understand that But they all know The times near They all know About the wrath of the Lamb. They all know about the one who sits on the throne in the tribulation. There'll be no atheists There'll be no agnostics They will all know the one who sits on the throne they will all know it's the wrath of the Lamb They'll say it's a wrath of God They call him the Lamb How do they know that Jesus is the Lamb How do they know all that? Remember all during the tribulation there will be witnesses 144,000 witnesses that come to saving faith because of two witnesses Two witnesses one like Moses and Elijah Who share the gospel?

144,000 Jewish evangelists are born again. They spread the gospel all around the world There's also an angel that flies around him in heaven one day. I'm gonna do a chart. That's much more detailed than this one It's gonna span across that wall to that wall And I'm gonna have every detail of the book of Revelation Outlined inside that chart and I'm gonna unroll that baby all the way across the auditorium and just spend one day Going through Revelation 1 Revelations at the 2 revelation at the 3 and map it out all the way to the very end for you And just have it all across the auditorium Because really we can't even begin to touch all the things about the end in just the short time of 11 weeks We've been talking about Luke 21 It doesn't come together that quick because there's so many details so many questions Harold asked me about what happens Where's that?

Where how come on the chart? There's not that 75 day period That's 75 day period that is spoken of in the Bible which is called the cleanup period It's spoken of in Daniel chapter 12. If you want to know where it is There's a 75 day period that take place after the end when Jesus comes back to clean up the mess To restore the world and set up the kingdom Maybe I need to put that in the chart because it's not there but it's a Daniel chapter 12. You can read about it Here's the here's the point The point is yes, we do not know the day nor do we know the hour because Jesus made that very clear But he never said you would not know the time the epic oh, you know It's coming He told us the last what happens at the abomination of desolation right here in the middle So on your chart, it's in red Daniel 9.7 He told us about the peril at the end when that happens run.

You got to go Don't look back. Don't go to your home run for those of you are pregnant too bad. You're gonna run slow You're gonna get caught those of you a child too bad. You're gonna run slow. You're gonna be caught run go go go You got to go Why? because the day of vengeance will escalate and The Antichrist will make sure he kills those who believe in the Lord now not everybody dies Because God will take a remnant into his kingdom right sheep goat judgment happens right here and The believers will go into the kingdom age and will rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years And at the end Satan will be released and there'll be a destruction of the heaven and the earth There'll be the great white throne judgment.

Then there'll be a new heaven and a new earth See, this is where the world's go. This is not fantasy It's not some fantasy. It's not fiction This is fact Because it's in God's Word. It's true In fact, it's so true It's so true It's precisely true I'm not sure I can say it that way but I'm gonna say it that way it is precisely true. Remember the first coming How precise it was There would be a virgin who would conceive That happened did not did not only time in the history of the world Only time history world where the woman had the seed fulfilling his justice 315 the woman will have a seed The man carries a seed But not in this case The woman will have a seat That's just a 315 that was fulfilled at the virgin birth of Jesus Christ our Lord It was said that in Isaiah 9 that a son would be given a child would be born The son was given because he's the eternal God and the child was born because God became man Happens like you said oh By the way, it told us exactly where he'd be born in Bethlehem of Judea 500 years before it actually happened because Jesus knew in eternity past exactly how it was gonna unfold So we we were told it would be born He would be born in Bethlehem of Judea The one is from everlasting to everlasting the eternal God would be born in Bethlehem of Judea So precise was that then when it happened Herod said to the scribes where is this King to be born?

They knew exactly Mac Micah chapter 5 verse number 2 It was so precise It was so precise that in the book of Hosea It was prophesied that my son will be called out of Egypt And that's exactly what happened in Matthew chapter 2 when Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt and God was called back out of Egypt Back to Nazareth. It was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Hosea So accurate was the prophecy that the Bible says in the book of Matthew He should be called a Nazarene as was written by the prophets of old and sure enough he was called a Nazarene as his first coming was Absolutely precise to the detail So is all that it's precise to the detail The Lord just doesn't throw stuff out there just to keep us guessing He wants us to know the end He wants us to come and understand the end Now I told you that men are gonna want to die, but they can't die turn to Revelation chapter 9 Revelation chapter 9 In Revelation chapter 9 you had the fifth trumpet that blows remember There are seven seals seven trumpets seven bowls the seven trumpets blow at the breaking of the seventh seal the seals Span the seven-year tribulation period so when the seventh Seal is broken and the seven trumpets blow you're toward the end When the seven bowls are poured out of the seventh trumpet you're at the very end and they happen in rapid succession Revelation chapter 16 records those seven bowls that are poured out upon the earth So here you had the fifth trumpet that blows.

This is what says And the fifth angel sounded and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth This is verse 1 of Revelation 9 and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him and he opened the bottomless pit and smoke went out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of The pit and out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth and power was given them as the scorpions of the earth have power And they were told that they should not hurt the grass of the earth nor any green thing nor any tree But only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads in other words You cannot touch those who have the seal of God And they were not permitted to kill anyone but to torment for five months So whatever these beasts are they can't kill anybody, but they can torment men for five months and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man and in those days men will seek death and Will not find it They'll seek death and not find it and they will long to die and death flees from them Can you imagine you are in such pain you want to die?

So you take the gun put it to your head and the bullet bounces off your head Or you take a sword or a knife and you fall on the sword knife because you want to die and the blade breaks You can't die see nobody dies by accident. Everybody dies by divine appointment You can't die unless God says you're gonna die and God's not gonna let him die Because it's the wrath of the land that's being poured out on mankind He controls who lives who dies he has the keys to death and Hades Revelation 1 verse number 18 He's in charge of all that And so they're gonna want to die but death escapes them death flees from them.

They are in such pain. They want to die You would think that they would repent Over in Revelation chapter 16, let's know what it says Revelation chapter 16 verse number 8 These are the bowls of wrath. They happen at the very end of the tribulation and the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the Sun and it will be given to it to scorch men with fire and men were scorched with fierce heat and they Blaspheme the name of God who has the power over these plagues and they did not repent so as to give him glory and the fifth angel poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast and his kingdom was darkened and they nod their tongues because of pain and they Blaspheme the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores and they did not repent of their deeds You see there are no atheists in the tribulation.

They are in such pain They have to redirect the pain from being scorched. They chew off the end of their tongues and They do not repent instead. They blaspheme the God Who made all this happen because everybody knows it's God everybody knows Ask yourself this question when there's terror in the world today when there's destruction in the world today How come nobody knows it's God because God's in charge of everything Everything Nothing escapes his notice But the tribulation they will all know without exception It's the lamb The wrath of the lamb the one who sits on the throne They blaspheme God they will not repent of their sin They won't So Jesus in response to the question Tells them These are the signs and this is a sign.

What's the sign? The sign is the presence of the Son of Man and There will be signs in sun and moon and stars and upon the earth Dismay among the nations the word used only one other time in the New Testament. It's a word of severe Anxiety soon the K which means anguish. It's a sense of terror. Why because there's no relief no relief Upon the earth dismay among the nations in Perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves the word perplexity is that word used only one time in the New Testament It's used right here It's a word that means utter confusion total confusion Confusion not because of not understanding But confusion because there's no remedy.

There's nothing you can do There's no hope and that's where they're at They get to a place in their lives where they can't do anything about the confusion That's happening in the world because it's in the most severe form You have a third of the earth being burned up You have a third of the of the freshwater being destroyed a third of the of the sea being destroyed you have men fainting from fear and they die because of their fear their terror kills them as The book of Isaiah said men's faces are a flame mainly because of confusion anger and anxiety They don't know what to do.

They're running here. They're running there They have no control over what's happening to them and man never wants to be out of control He wants to control his environment and he can't control it because everything around him is falling apart The heavens are falling apart all around them What do we do? What can we do nothing? So they cry for the rocks to fall upon them and to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb from the one who sits on the throne Says that there will be signs of sun and moon stars and upon the earth dismay Among nations and perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves Men fainting from fear and the expectation of things which are coming upon the world there They're dying because they are so afraid of what's happening to them For the powers of the heavens will be shaken Matthew's account reads this way Matthew chapter 24 But immediately after the tribulation of those days The Sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens will be shaken and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky as Joel himself said Everything becomes dark Matthew reiterates that by saying everything becomes pitch black Pitch black It's God who controls the Sun the moon and the stars remember Colossians 117 he upholds all things by the word of his power How does God hold everything together?

with his word So if he speaks the word against the powers that are they all begin to to tumble and to fall and that's exactly what he does the earth goes dark and Then there will be the sign of the Son of Man No man knows a day No man knows the hour, but everybody knows the time It's coming When don't know exactly when but it's coming So Jesus is saying that at the very end right here Sun goes dark The moon goes dark stars begin to fall everything as Joel says will be pitch black and Then The sign of The Son of Man the sign is the Son of Man in all of his glory and all the splendor That's why all the world will see him see remember His glory was veiled in his first coming by the vice flesh But when he comes again, that glory will be unveiled unveiled in Everybody will see him Because as lightning flashes from one in the sky to the other so shall the coming of the Son of Man be In the book of Zechariah Zechariah speaks of this Zechariah chapter 14 It says this Verse 5 and you will flee by the valley of the mountains for the valley.

The mountains will reach azale Yes, and you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah Then the Lord my God will come and all the Holy Ones with him Now, why would the Holy Ones come with him? We'll remember at the rapture of the church before the tribulation Revelation 310 John 14 1 2 3 1 Corinthians 15 1st Thessalonians 4 17 18 there remember there's no judgment in our In Christ's coming to take us on with him And on the back of your chart you have a comparison between the rapture of the church and The coming of the Son of Man and the 16 different differences that explain the scripture to show you why they can't be the same event Okay, so when the Bible was Zechariah prophesied that all his Holy Ones will come with him.

Who are the Holy Ones? Well, the Bible tells us in Revelation chapter 19 those who are clothed in white raiment read that in a moment But when Jesus comes all of us Holy Ones come with him and then it says this They will come about in that day that there will be no light the illuminaries will dwindle For it will be a unique day, which is known to the Lord neither day Nor night it is a unique day. It is a specific day only known to the Lord But there will be no day there will be no night it will be completely black But it will come about that at evening time.

There will be light There will be a brightness because that brightness is the coming of the Son of Man and the glory of the king and It will come about in that day That living waters will flow out of Jerusalem Half of them toward the Eastern Sea and the other half toward the Western Sea It will be in summer as well as in winter and the Lord will be king over all the earth in that day The Lord will be the only hope and his name the only one terming about a revelation chapter 19 Revelation chapter 19 is the New Testament commentary on Zechariah chapter 14 in Revelation chapter 19 you have these words spoken and I saw heaven opened and Behold a white horse and he who sat upon it is called faithful and true and in righteousness He judges and wages war Now when John sees this glorified vision of the return of the king He sees one on a white horse Now the question comes is the white horse literal or is a symbolic?

Because in Daniel's vision Daniel 7 13 to 14, he sees a son of man coming on the clouds Okay, when you read Matthew chapter 24 Luke chapter 21 You realize he comes in and on the clouds When you read Acts 1 11 You hear the angels say to the disciples Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up in the heaven? Do you not know that this same Jesus will return in the same manner in which you left physically? Bodily, okay same way left and as he was ascending into the clouds, he will come back in the clouds Psalm 104 says he makes the clouds his chariot Psalm Isaiah 13 says the same thing that he comes on the cloud So what does he do is come in a cloud or a white horse?

The white horse is symbolic of two things purity. It's white and royalty because he's the king He comes back in our world you remember remember every king that conquered Jerusalem still in the Mount of Olives Raises sword to the sky on a horse Because they proved themselves to be king over Jerusalem When Jesus returns that's exactly what's going to happen And so the Bible speaks of his royalty as the king speaks of his authority speaks of his purity It says this he's faithful and true because he said he was coming and he is Because he's true to his word And his eyes are like a flame of fire upon his head are many diadems Okay Just like the horse, he doesn't have all these these crowns just hanging from his head He batten them out of the way as he as he comes down from the sky because there's so many diadems hanging from his head It's symbolic of the fact that he is the king of all kings.

He's the Lord of all Lords Okay, because the the beast had ten crowns and the dragon had seven crowns Christ has all the crowns because he's the king of kings and Lord of Lords So it says these words and he is clothed with the robe dipped in blood and his name is called the Word of God By the way, it says in verse 12 and he has a name written upon him, which no one knows except himself it speaks of the fact that God is Completely beyond us He has a name on him that no one knows Now remember his Holy Ones come back with him But no one knows the name No one knows the name So he has a name written on him, but no one knows It speaks that no matter how long you are in eternity You will never fully comprehend all that God is and you will spend all of eternity Trying to comprehend the vastness of his glory the vastness of his character Because he is so beyond us And it says this He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood and his name is called the Word of God John sees his robe dipped in blood remember in Isaiah Isaiah 63 That's why we put right here the Battle of Bozrah most charts have the Battle of Armageddon There is no Battle of Armageddon read Revelation 16 They gathered together in the Valley of Megiddo, but there's no record of any battle in the ghetto No record.

Why do we say it's the Battle of Armageddon? When there's no battle in Armageddon All you gotta do is read Isaiah 63 Isaiah 34 Micah chapter 5 Habakkuk chapter 2, where is it? It's in Bozrah the Battle of Bozrah It's very called the Battle of Bozrah because when Isaiah sees them in Isaiah 63 He sees a son of man coming in all of his righteousness is his garments are already stained in blood He says I tread the winepress alone. I Battle alone. It's my battle And when Isaiah sees him coming with the glowing colors of Bozrah already a Garment stained in blood the battle has already begun He hasn't reached Jerusalem yet.

It's already begun Because that's where Israel has fled in the wilderness according to Revelation 12, and that's why Jesus returns in that area Because that's where Israel will be. He's gonna protect his people That's a promise God has given Then it says and the armies which are in heaven clothed in fine linen white and clean are Following him on white horses. Who's that? That's us. How do we know that revelation 19 verse number 7 says these words? Let's rejoice and be glad And give glory to him for the marriage of the Lamb has come And his bride has made herself ready and it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen bright and clean For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the Saints So when you go to heaven at the ratchet of the church There's a judgment seat of Christ, which there is no Wrath, it's all rewards Because you're rewarded because you are an overcomer Christ is the ultimate overcomer the marriage supper.

The land will happen all throughout the seven-year period Okay, because there's a presentation of the bride to his father It's exactly how it happens in in Jewish weddings So the presentation of the bride, which is the church to his father who's in heaven Encompasses the seven-year Feast and then at the end of that seven-year feast, there's a seven-year tribulation on the earth We come and we turn with him back to the earth and will ruin reign with him for a thousand years on the earth Bible goes on to say these words From his mouth comes a sharp sword said with it.

He may smite the nations He will rule them with a rod of iron He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God same phraseology of Isaiah chapter 63 when Isaiah sees him Well, he says I tread the winepress alone it says these words And on his robe and on his thigh. He is name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords Jesus is coming again. And Jesus says to his men Luke 21 when the moon darkens the Sun doesn't give its light and The stars of the heavens begin to fall then you will see the Sun of the Son of Man It also says this back in Luke chapter 21 Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory The first time he came He came on the backside of a donkey in humiliation to die Now he comes to rule and reign forever Verse 28, but when these things begin to take place what things When these things what things remember this is an order of sequence and This and this and this So when you see these things About to take place.

He says Straighten up lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing near what things Everything beginning in verse number 20 at the midpoint of the tribulation when you begin to flee run When you see these things Lift up your heads Because your redemption draws nigh it's coming. The time is near. It's gonna happen at any moment You've got to be ready for the coming of the Son of Man You need to know he's coming back. This is not some fictitious story that was put together by Hollywood This is the truth of Almighty God and you must be ready for the return of the king You must know he's coming again Because this is the plan of the age.

This is the plan of the end This is how it's all going to unfold All you have to do is read the Old Testament read the New Testament It speaks of it very clearly as to what's going to happen You might be a little confused this morning because you might not understand every verse that was read or every verse that you read But it's all there because the Lord wants us to know that he's going to come again The question is are you ready for his return? Are you ready for the coming of the Son of Man? Christ encourages them lift up your heads For your redemption draw nigh The King is coming You see the Lord didn't leave the world confused about his coming again He's made it very clear So clear that in the tribulation there will be no atheists no agnostics Everybody will know who is doing what to the earth?

They can't blame the economy Can't blame ecology that can't blame anybody but the Lamb who sits on the throne It's the wrath of the land. They will all know Our job today is to let people know about the end To explain it to them. So they understand the coming wrath of God Our God is a God of love and mercy and grace And in his wrath he gives us his grace and mercy he tells them this is what's gonna happen This how it's gonna unfold when you see this you got to run Why because you're gonna see this the stars careening out of heaven and the earth being rolled over the stars rolled up like a Like a scroll and the Son of Man is gonna come It's gonna happen You got to know so he tells them that's grace That's mercy.

That's the warning sign. It's gonna happen Just like this. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom Are you ready? If you are if you're ready today, you will miss all that You're gonna go up and be with Christ When he comes again, remember the the plan of the age the second coming of Christ is this This is the second coming of Christ The rapture the church does not initiate the seven-year tribulation The signing of the covenant with Israel Initiates the seven-year tribulation, which is Daniel's 70th week in Daniel chapter 9 This is the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy And as the church was not in the first 69 weeks neither is the church in the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy That's how you know, the church won't be here.

What would the church be the church will be in heaven? Receiving their rewards because they have been faithful to the one who called them Experiencing the marriage supper of the land that that's seven-year Celebration as Christ presents his bride to his father and then We will come back with him We are the ones clothed in white linen We are the ones who have been washed in the blood of the lamb and we will return with the king And he will set up his kingdom He will rule for a thousand years Satan will be bound for those thousand years but loosed at the end Where he's loose at the end There'll be a huge destruction of both the heaven and the earth and all that will be left will be one Great white throne judgment where all the unbelievers who have died throughout all the ages will be raised from the dead Brought before the great white throne judgment and the books will be opened And once the books are opened they were without excuse They will be cast into the lake of fire the lake of fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels but they will go there because he did not believe and Then there will be a new heaven and a new earth a perfect kingdom where only righteousness dwells That's the plan And I'm glad to know I'm a part of that plan Let's pray father.

Thank you for today The chance to be able to study your word Truly Lord. We are blessed people And our prayer father is that we would realize the urgency of the second coming of Christ People will understand and believe Our prayers for that one individual or individuals who are with us today Who did not believe?

Somehow you bring them to a place of repentance They might surely give their life To the King of all Kings and the Lord of all Lords we pray in Jesus name. Amen