Are You Ready for Christ's Return? Part 2

Today's a great day. Every day is a great day in our reality. Some days are greater than others, but today's a great day for us to study God's Word together and to understand the return of Jesus Christ our Lord. If you have your Bible, turn with me to Luke chapter 12.

That's where we are today, Luke chapter 12. We find ourselves looking to conclude what we started last week, but we will not conclude it this week. It'll be next week, unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your perspective, about the coming of Christ. The Bible says this in Luke 12, verse number 35, be dressed in readiness and keep your lamps alight and be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks.

Blessed are those slaves whom the master shall find on the alert when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will gird himself to serve and have them reclined at the table, and will come up and wait on them, whether he comes in the second watch or even in the third, and finds them so.

Blessed are those slaves. And be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect. The Son of Man is coming at an hour you don't expect, so you better be ready. The mandate is you got to be ready. The motive is the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect. And he gives four metaphors to describe how it is we are to be ready.

Did you know that there are over 50 exhortations, 50, five, zero, exhortations in the scriptures about being ready for the coming of the Messiah, 50. There is so much about the coming of Christ. We've told you last week that this is a a cardinal doctrine of scripture. In fact, outside of the doctrine of faith in scripture, the doctrine of the second coming is the most talked about doctrine in scripture.

Can you believe that? And more people know less about the second coming of Christ than you can imagine.

But it's true that the doctrine of the second coming is the most talked about doctrine in all of the scriptures.

That's why it's a cardinal doctrine. In fact, the Lord would refer to His coming 21 different times because He wanted people to be ready for His return. In fact, of the 333 prophecies concerning the coming of Christ, there was only 109 of them fulfilled in His first coming, leaving 224 yet to be fulfilled in His second coming.

It's important to note that of the 46 Old Testament prophets, less than 10 of them spoke of the events in Christ's first coming, whereas 36 speak of the events surrounding His second coming.

Quite astonishing. There are 1,527 Old Testament passages referring to the second coming of Christ alone.

And of the 7,959 verses in the New Testament, there are exactly 330 of them that refer directly to the second coming, meaning that 1 out of every 25 verses in the New Testament speaks about the second coming of the Lord Jesus.

This is quite an important doctrine. In fact, every time the first coming is mentioned in the Bible, the second coming is mentioned eight times in the Bible.

And yet people always mess up the end and the return of Christ. We need not do that. In fact, it's so important that the very first prophecy in the Bible from man to man is about the second coming of the Messiah, not the first coming.

How do we know that? Book of Jude, 14th verse. And about these also Enoch in the seventh generation from Adam prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones to execute judgment upon all and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds, which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. Notice the text says, Behold, the Lord came.

See, well, if it says He came, it means that's past tense. No, no, it's not. It's really present tense. But the Lord came. Why? It's spoken of that way as an assurance of the fact that He's going to come. A lot like it says over in Ephesians chapter two, verse number six, when it says that God has already raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. While we are not yet in heaven, it is a sure fact that He has caused us to sit together with Him in heavenly places.

It's a sure fact. So when Jude is writing, he's given us what Enoch prophesied the seventh generation from Adam way back in the book of Genesis concerning the return or the coming of Jesus Christ our Lord. And when He comes, he says, He's going to come with many thousands of His holy ones. That's important because we know in Revelation 19 that when we come, when the Lord Christ comes back again, we will come with Him. In fact, the Bible says in Zechariah 14 five, and you shall flee to the valley of the mountains for the valley of the mountains shall reach into a zeal.

Yea, you shall flee as you fled from before the earthquakes in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. And the Lord, my God shall come and all His saints with Him. Speaking of His godly ones. The Bible says in Matthew 25 31, the son of man shall come in His glory and all the holy angels with Him.

Meaning the angels are going to come as well. Colossians three four says when Christ who is our life shall appear, then you shall appear with Him in glory. In other words, we are going to come back with Christ. Behold, the Lord cometh or behold, the Lord came. It's an assured fact. He's coming. And when He comes, He's going to bring His holy ones with Him. That's you and that's me. And that is His angels as well. And then it says this. The purpose of His coming is to execute judgment. Execute judgment.

That's His purpose in His coming. That's what Enoch spoke of in the seventh generation from Adam. The first time He came, He came to bring redemption.

The second time He comes, He comes for retribution. Second Thessalonians one seven says and to you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and for the glory of His power when He shall come to be glorified in His saints and to be admired in all them that believe.

He's coming to execute judgment. And when He comes, Jude says He will bring conviction upon all man. Man will realize he is guilty of all of his sin. The coming of Christ is so important that the very first prophecy in scripture that God gave to a man to prophesy to man was about the judgment of God upon man.

That's why it's so important. The very first prophecy from God Genesis 3 15 is about the first coming.

The seed that will that will bruise a serpent's head. But the very first prophecy in scripture from God to a man to tell men was all about the second coming of the Lord.

This is so crucial. We need to come to grips with it because the Bible says that in the last days scoffers are going to come and the scoffers are going to become more and more numerous especially if we have guys like Harold Camping prophesying that the Lord's going to come and then he doesn't come, right?

We become the laughingstock of of the world. We become scoffed at by those who are scoffers because they will say where is the promise of His coming? You keep telling us He's going to come. He's not here. Where is the promise that you say will be fulfilled? Peter speaks about that in 2 Peter chapter 3. But we know that the day of the Lord is going to come. Peter tells us that. In fact he says in 2 Peter chapter 3 verse number 10 these words, but the day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat and the earth and its works will be burned up.

Since all of 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 on account 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 a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. That's what we're looking for, a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells. It's important for you to conceptualize in time events.

It's important for you to realize what they are. So what I've done is I put them on the screen. I'm not sure they're going to be able to come up today. Our projector is not working real well. We're going to try it if it doesn't work because I really oh it's coming up. Turn the lights off please. Somebody quick turn the lights off. Oh more more than that all of them. Please turn them all off. Every light in the house. There we go. Oh I like it dark. Don't you guys like it dark? Can you guys see that okay?

Oh good good because I can't see a thing up here. But you know this is the only a couple of times a decade I can be high tech and so I have my little high tech thing here you know my little red dot thingy that I can point to you. But I really truly want you to be able to conceptualize the end times. You need to be able to get a picture of it. You need to understand it. We did this with our series on the return of the king on a Wednesday evening series that we did a little over a year ago. But you need to conceptualize this because you need to understand it.

Peter speaks about the day of the Lord coming like a thief in the night in which the heavens will be destroyed with fervent heat. They'll be destroyed completely okay? And since that's going to happen what kind of people are you to be? So he speaks of this event right here when there's going to be a new heaven and new earth but he also talks about the day of the Lord. Now the day of the Lord is used a phrase used 19 times in the Old Testament. It's used four times in the New Testament. Sometimes it's called the day of doom.

Sometimes it's called the day of vengeance okay? Sometimes it's called the great day of the Lord God Almighty. But you need to understand the day of the Lord because in all reality the day of the Lord begins with the tribulation and spans the millennial kingdom of Christ to the end. The day of the Lord spans all that time frame. You need to understand that. But you need to be able to come to grips with what the Bible says concerning the return of the king.

So when Peter talks about the day of the Lord coming like a thief in the night he's speaking of this day here okay? But then he goes and jumps to here to talk about the new heaven and the new earth where righteousness dwells. Revelation 21 and 22 speak about the new heaven and the new earth and there's no more pain. There's no more sin. There's no more crying. We all long for that day where it's perfect. But that's in the new heaven and the new earth. Before that takes place there will be what is called a great white throne judgment.

That's in Revelation 20 verses 11 to 15. And you will note in Revelation 20 before the great white throne judgment there is a gathering. Satan will be loosed and there's a gathering here of the people against God. He destroys them and there's one verse that speaks about it in Revelation 20. It's rather rapid but fire consumes all the enemies of God at the end of what we call the millennial reign of Christ. He destroys all the enemies of God and then everything is like it was before Genesis 1 verse number 1.

Because in Revelation 20 verses 11 and following it says that the present heavens and the present earth flee from the presence of God. That means that the universe is not infinite. It's finite because the present universe, the present heavens, the present earth flee from the presence of Almighty God. Well if God is omnipresent, if he is everywhere at once and something is no longer in his presence that means it no longer exists. It's gone. And so in Revelation 20 I believe it is verses 13 to 14 when Satan gathers together at the end of the millennial reign all those who have rebelled against Christ for one final battle and Christ destroys them rapidly with fire then that is what Peter talks about how this present earth will be destroyed with intense heat and will melt away and be gone in an instant.

Then you come to Revelation 20 verse number 11 which speaks of the great white throne judgment and this is where all the unsaved will be judged. There will be what is called a resurrection of the unsaved of all the ages. Everybody gets a body. Everybody will be resurrected. Okay. And all the unbelievers will be resurrected right here before the great white throne judgment and all the books will be opened and every man will be judged by those deeds as they stand against the perfection of God's holy law and they will be cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20 verse number 5 speaks of that second resurrection. The first resurrection is of course Christ who is the first fruits of all those who will be resurrected.

It's the resurrection of the New Testament saints. It's the resurrection of Old Testament saints. That is the first resurrection.

But the second resurrection consists only of the unsaved dead and once they are raised here they will be judged here at the great white throne judgment.

So before there's a new heaven and a new earth there is a great white throne judgment. Before there's a great white throne judgment there is a kingdom age. That's the fulfillment of all Davidic promise to Israel. A fulfillment of all Abrahamic promise to Israel. They will have a land. They will have a king on the throne in Jerusalem who rules and it's a thousand years long. How do we know that? Revelation 20 verses 1 to 6 says six times that it's a thousand years. Okay. So we know how long that kingdom age is upon the earth.

It's a thousand years where it's almost, excuse me, like Eden once again on earth. Where the baby will be able to put his hand in the hole of where the cobra lies and not be bitten. Where the wolf will lie down with the lamb and there'll be serenity and peace and harmony. Why? Because there's one who rules. That's Christ himself. He's the one who rules overall from the city of Jerusalem. And there will be ten Gentiles, the book of Zechariah tells us, on the coat of every Jew saying take us to your king.

Take us to your king. And Isaiah speaks of this. Daniel speaks of this. Ezekiel speaks of this. Remember that the government will be upon his shoulders, Isaiah 9 verse number 6. Well that happens in the kingdom age when Jesus Christ is here upon the earth. So there's going to be a new heaven and new earth. Before that happens there's going to be a great white throne judgment. Before that happens there's going to be a one thousand year reign of Christ fulfilling Abrahamic covenant, Davidic covenant and new covenant for the nation of Israel.

That they might experience the newness of what it means to walk in the newness of Christ and to experience salvation to its fullest extent. All this time Satan will be bound. Satan is bound when Christ comes back down to earth again. He will be bound. He will be bound for a thousand years. He is not bound here. He is not bound here and nobody can bind him because the Bible never says the Christians are to bind Satan. Never. We are to resist him and he will flee but nowhere does it say that we as Christians are to bind Satan.

You can't do that. No matter how much you'd like to do that you can't do that. Only God can do that and God does it right here when he comes back down to earth and he has this great battle and he binds Satan for a thousand years. Why? Because when people sin in the kingdom age they can never say that Satan made them do it. He's bound. He has no influence anymore. He is bound for a thousand years. When man sins he sins because of his own volition because he chooses to rebel against God. That's always the way it's been.

And so Satan will be loose at the end. There'll be one final battle very quick because God will destroy them. The heavens will melt away with fervent heat like before Genesis 1-1. There will be nothing but the great white throne judgment and the unbelievers standing there. We will also be there to witness that event and then from there comes a new heaven, new earth, Revelation 21 and Revelation 22. You begin to conceptualize everything. Now Jesus is going to come again. It's called the second coming of the Messiah.

Here I write Armageddon because that's how it's known the battle of Armageddon. It's really not the battle of Armageddon. It's really the battle of Bozrah. How do we know that? Isaiah 63, Isaiah 34, Malachi chapter 2 and Habakkuk chapter 1 I believe it is. Okay. How do we know that? It's not really the battle of Armageddon because Revelation 16 says they gather together. When Jimmy DeYoung was here he emphasized this. They gather together in the valley of Megiddo. They gather there. The Bible never says they fight there.

It never says that. It says they gather there. So you need to keep your finger on the text to read what it says. So they gather there because they're going to make their way down to Jerusalem and plunder Jerusalem and make their way down to the wilderness that is the armies of Satan. How do we know that? Revelation 12. Revelation 12 says that the woman will flee to the wilderness in the second half of the tribulation, three and a half years.

The second half of the tribulation the woman who is Israel will flee to the wilderness. And we know from the Old Testament that the wilderness is always Edom and Moab. We know that. Bozrah is the ancient capital of Edom. So when Isaiah sees the Messiah coming he's already spotted with blood. He already has his garment stripping in blood in Isaiah 63 when he says who is this that comes from Bozrah? Bozrah was known for the dyeing and coloring of garments by the way in case you didn't know that. And so here comes the Messiah and the Messiah says it is I who treads the winepress alone.

Which takes us back to Revelation 14 to tell us how the Messiah will tread the winepress alone and that means there'll be the spattering of blood because of the battle that begins in Bozrah. That's where it begins. Why? Because Israel the Jews will flee to Edom which is the Old Testament wilderness because Revelation 12 says they flee to the wilderness on the wings of a great eagle that is not an airplane by the way. It's just how God shows us they're going to flee with rapidity to the wilderness.

That's where Israel will be. And so because they gather together in the Valley of Megiddo make their way down through Jerusalem destroy the city make their way down into the wilderness to destroy Israel who is someplace and some people believe it'll be in Petra the rose red city in the rocks. Maybe that's the case maybe it's not but Israel will be someplace in Edom and that's why when Isaiah sees the Messiah coming from Bozrah his garments are already stained with blood because the battle has already begun.

Why? Because those who gathered, did I lose my light? Oh wow man. See that's why I'm not a high-tech person see because you can never depend on high-tech stuff. So that's okay that's not a problem because I have a backup plan. Lights up please. I have a backup plan. I have a chart for you guys to look at see because I am old school and draw everything by hand so that when high-tech doesn't really work for you old school always does.

That's why I'm old school. So if you ushers would come down here and distribute these for me I'd appreciate that so everybody I can finish my first half of my sermon or the introduction to my sermon at least so people know what's going on.

So I'm going to hold this up for you you can look at your chart so you can see it and you can keep this by the way we're going to give it to you because you came today this is my gift to you.

This little chart that you can shrink down and put in your Bible if you want to or just hold on to it but it will help you understand exactly what we're talking about and so let me pick up where I was and that is the fact that Satan and his armies will descend upon the wilderness upon someplace in Edom as to why the Messiah will descend upon Bozrah.

That's what Isaiah 34 says. That's what Isaiah 63 says. So we know where the Lord's going to be. Some people say well wait a minute pastor the Bible says that the Lord is going to return to the Mount of Olives.

No it doesn't. You say wait a minute yes it does. Acts chapter one Acts chapter one says why stand ye gazing up into the heavens? These two men in white apparel would speak to the apostles. Don't you know that this same Jesus will return in the same manner in which he left? Yes that's exactly what it says but it doesn't say that he will return to the Mount of Olives. It just says that he will return in the same manner in which he left. Now he will go to the Mount of Olives but he doesn't descend from heaven to the Mount of Olives.

Many commentators have got that wrong. It doesn't say that but we know what the Old Testament does say because Isaiah sees him coming from Bozrah with his garments already stained in blood because the battle has already begun. That make sense? And he will make his way up from the wilderness to Jerusalem where he will then stand on the Mount of Olives and he will split that Mount of Olives and there will be a judgment called the judgment of the nations. That happens right here right here where it says Armageddon at that battle before there is a millennial kingdom, millennial reign of Christ.

That's where that judgment takes place. Matthew chapter 25. It's called the judgment, the sheep goat judgment which is the judgment of the nations. He puts the goats on his left. He puts the sheep on his right and the sheep on the right enter into his glorious kingdom and the goats are cast into the lake of fire. That's called the judgment of the nations. Okay? That's very important to understand that. And that allows, listen, believing Gentiles and believing Jews to enter the millennial kingdom.

Okay? Remember the book of Zechariah tells us that one-third of the Jewish nation will be saved. Two-thirds will perish. One-third will be saved.

Okay? So one-third encompasses the all of Romans 11 which says all Israel will be saved. All what Israel? All the remnant, the one-third remnant will be saved.

Make sense? They will go into the millennial kingdom. Those one-third remnant that God spared. Plus believing Gentiles who gave their life to Christ who did not die by all the plagues, who did not die because they were beheaded because they believed in Christ but were still alive. They are part of the sheep who will go into the millennial kingdom of Christ and they will reign with Christ. Not reign with Christ but be in that kingdom with Christ. We as glorified saints will rule and reign with Christ in that millennial kingdom.

And those Jews and Gentiles will go into the kingdom. They will have children. They will populate the earth. And some of those children will believe and some of them will not believe. And that's where Satan gets his remnant to come against Christ at the end of that kingdom where Christ destroys them. Are you with me so far? See I'm confused Pastor. That's okay get the tape it will explain everything to you. Before that battle which I call the Battle of Beozerah. Okay, oh by the way from Edom to Ezdralon the Valley of Ezdralon which is the Valley of Megiddo where they gather is 1,600 stadiai which Revelation 14 says that blood will flow for 1,600 stadiai.

To the horse's bridles 200 miles from Edom to Ezdralon is 196 miles. Okay 1,600 stadiai. So just like the Bible says that's how the blood will flow according to Revelation 14 because that's exactly what the Bible says.

So that's why we know the 200 miles consists of Edom to Ezdralon and that's where the Messiah will descend. The Bible is very clear about the plan of the end. It's not nebulous. It's not unclear. It's not dark. It's not cloudy. It's very clear. That's why we put it in a chart for you so you can see it and the Bible speaks very clearly about all these events. Before that battle there's what we call the Tribulation. Seven years. How do we know that? It's Daniel's 70th week. Okay we talked about Daniel's 69 weeks last week where the Messiah would be presented at the end of the 69 weeks.

Right? Messiah will also be cut off at the end of those 69 weeks. And Daniel doesn't prophesy what happens between the 69th week and the 70th week because the church age is a mystery to the Old Testament saints. They don't get it. They don't understand that. That's a mystery. But we know that the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy is going to be fulfilled and we know that's going to consist of seven years because it's 77s. Seven, 70 years, 70, 70 years of seven which is consist of 490 years according to Daniel chapter nine verses 27, 25, 26, and 27.

So we understand the timeframe. Okay. And so what happens then is that this 70th week of Daniel's prophecy is what is called the Tribulation period, which consists of two aspects, three and a half years each, 1260 days or 42 months. And we know that the abomination of desolation takes place in the middle of that Tribulation period. That's where the Antichrist sets himself up to be God and demands to be worshipped as God. Okay. So let me review for you.

There's going to be a new heaven and new earth. Okay. But that doesn't happen to the great white throne judgment. That doesn't happen until after the kingdom age, which was Satan will be bound and then loosed and then cast into the lake of fire. That kingdom age does not happen until the end of the Tribulation period. Jesus comes back at the end of that Tribulation period. But while he's in heaven, there's the marriage supper of the Lamb, there's the judgment seat of Christ, which where we as believers are judged, not condemned.

We are judged. We are given rewards. It's the beam of seat of Christ. It's where we are rewarded. Christ says, behold, I come quickly, Revelation 21, 22, and my reward is with me, right?

Because he rewards his own. He rewards his own. And yet the trigger event for all of this is the rapture of the church, because this is a signless event. The second coming of Christ is a sign-filled event.

The rapture is a signless event. That's why we speak of the imminent return of Christ. No man knows a day, nor does he know the hour, right? Because we can't know. There are no signs that take place before there's to be the rapture of the church. There are many signs that could happen, many things that could take place, but there's nothing required to take place before the imminent return of Christ. That's why every New Testament writer lived in the anticipation of the coming of the Messiah. They never knew when he was going to come, but he was going to come for them.

How do we know that? Jesus said in John 14, he said, let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. For in my Father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. And I go away to prepare a place for you. And if I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and I will receive you unto myself. Okay? So that where I am there, you may be also. These are the words of comfort for troubled hearts. Listen, whenever there's a troubled heart, the Bible speaks of the words of comfort around the return of the king.

That's what comforts the troubled heart. Jesus is coming again. He takes us home to be with him. There is the reward for believers at the judgment seat of Christ, according to Revelation 14, according to 1 Corinthians chapter 5, or 2 Corinthians chapter 5, slipped my mind there for a minute, 1 Corinthians chapter 3, and it speaks about the rewards given to the believers. And then there's that married supper of the Lamb, Revelation 19, that takes place where Christ serves us, which by the way, our text talks about in Luke chapter 12.

And then we come back with him at his return. Listen carefully. When you speak about the return of the king, this is it. Everything. You need to understand it. You have to decipher what it is the text is speaking about concerning this whole plan of the end. This is the return of the king. The trigger event for all this, we are in the church age right now.

This is where we're at today. We're in the church age. It was a mystery to Old Testament saints. They had no idea about the church age, nothing about it. That's why it's called a mystery. Christ in you, the hope of glory. It's the church age. That's where we're at. And Christ is building his church. Why? Because he's prepared a bride for his son. And when everybody in that church age is saved, and only God knows that, he'll take us home to be with him. That's called the rapture of the church. Listen carefully.

This is Luke 12, verse number 40. Right here. Luke 12, verse number 40. Be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Okay? It is a silence event. A silence event. You cannot determine it by any signs. Tribulation period is filled with signs. You have seven seals. Seven seals that span the seven years of tribulation. Okay? That are broken. You have the seven trumpets that blow toward the end of the tribulation. And the seven bowls that are poured out at the very end of the tribulation.

And then the king comes back to earth. These two events. Okay? Phase A, phase B of the return of Christ. Phase A is a trigger event, the rapture of the church. This is the revelation of Christ to the earth when he returns back. Let me explain to you the difference between the revelation of Christ and the rapture of the church.

Let me explain it to you this way. At the rapture of the church, that which is not revealed in the Old Testament but only revealed in the New Testament is a mystery. Whereas the revelation of Christ to the world is revealed by all the major prophets in the Old Testament and also revealed in the New Testament. The rapture of the church may occur at any time. It is an imminent return. There are no signs required for Jesus to come and take us home to be with him. At the revelation of Christ there are many signs and many details of prophecy yet to be fulfilled all in Revelation 6 to Revelation chapter 19.

Which by the way the church is nowhere mentioned in Revelation 6 to Revelation chapter 19. It's mentioned 20 times in Revelation chapters 1 to 3. Meaning the church is not there. Oh by the way, the reason there can't be a mid-tribulational rapture as some people purport, a mid-tribulational rapture or as some call a pre-wrath rapture which is right before the very end of terrible events or a post-trib rapture. The reason there can't be is simply because the rapture of the church is a signless event.

There are no signs. Nothing leading up to it that will indicate to you that there's going to be a translation of the rapture of the church from earth to glory. But the revelation of Christ, there are many signs that take place. Okay? So you must understand that. Also to know that the rapture of the church is a time of comfort for the believer but the revelation of Christ is a time of terror for the unbeliever. All you have to do is read the book of Revelation. The rapture of the church promises to the church are fulfilled in the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The promises to Israel are fulfilled. There's a distinct difference. In the rapture of the church, Christ will meet the church in the air. At the revelation of Christ, Christ himself will come back to the earth. At the rapture of the church, okay, we meet him in the air to be with him forever. At the revelation of Christ, we come with him back to earth. At the rapture of the church, it's a private event. Only the believers will experience it. At the revelation of Christ, it's a public event. Every eye will see him.

Every eye will see him. It's unmistakable. At the rapture of the church, evil begins to increase. At the revelation of Christ, evil is suppressed. In fact, during the tribulation, there will be more evil that occurs in those seven-year periods because according to Revelation 12, Satan is cast out of heaven geographically. He was cast out of heaven morally way back earlier in Genesis before Genesis chapter 3, but he still has access to the throne of God. Read the book of Job. Read Revelation 12. Revelation 12.10 says that he stands before the throne of God accusing the brethren day and night.

But in Revelation 12, the Bible says he's cast out of heaven to earth. The text says he knows he has only a short time, and he is cast down to earth during this time of tribulation, and that's why it is a demonic infested time upon the earth because Satan's presence is now upon the earth. And so therefore, at the rapture of the church, evil increases because we have the Spirit of God in us. We are part and parcel with the Holy Spirit, the restrainer of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. We restrain the evil through the Spirit of God working through us, but that Spirit of God is now, its restraining influence is removed.

The Spirit of God is not removed. The restraining influence is removed during the tribulation period, and Satan has full reign upon the earth, and therefore, it's evil. People will still be saved because we know that there are more people saved at that time than at any other time in history based on what the book of Revelation 7 tells us, so we understand that. But still, it's a time of great evil upon the earth. The rapture of the church, the believer's bodies are changed in the moment, in the twinkling of an eye.

At the revelation of Christ, the changes occur radically upon the earth, upon his return. At the rapture of the church, Christ, the bridegroom and the head is revealed. At the revelation of Christ, Christ himself, the Messiah of Israel is revealed. The rapture of the church initiates the judgment seat of Christ, 2 Corinthians 5.10. At the revelation of Christ, you have the judgment of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25. At the rapture of the church, the believers are taken into the Lord's presence.

At the revelation of Christ, the believers are taken into the kingdom. Both events, according to 1 Corinthians 15 and Matthew 24, both events will come suddenly and unexpectedly, but both events will come. But the trigger event is the rapture of the church. That triggers every other event. Tribulation doesn't happen to the rapture. The return of the Messiah to earth doesn't happen until the tribulation. The kingdom age doesn't happen until the Messiah comes back. The destruction of the present heavens doesn't happen until the end of the millennial kingdom, then the great white throne judgment, and then the new heaven and the new earth.

That's the plan of the end. That's what the Bible teaches as you look at the book of Revelation from a chronological perspective, and you tie it into what the Old Testament prophets have said.

You come up with a pre-tribulational, pre-millennial return of Jesus Christ, our Lord. It's unmistakable. All you can do is read the Bible. It's right there. And that's why we give you a chart so you can conceptualize it. You need to be able to understand what the text is talking about when it speaks about the judgment of the nations in Matthew 25. When does that take place? Where is that? How do we know? How does that fit into the plan of the age? How does it fit into the millennial reign of Christ and the fulfillment of Abrahamic covenant, Davidic covenant, new covenant for the nation of Israel?

How about the fact that there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth? So when Peter talks about it in 2 Peter 3.10, that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, and then the heavens will pass away with fervent heat. Well, he combines all the events together, puts them all in one. But we know that there is a span between the day of the Lord and the coming of Christ as a thief upon the earth, and then ruling and reigning, and then ultimately the destruction of this present earth and the new heaven and the new earth.

There's at least a thousand years between that. So you have to look at what the text is saying in light of what all the other texts say about the coming of the Messiah.

But John 14 speaks of the rapture of the church. He's going to come and take us home to be with Him. We will go home with Him. We will receive our rewards. There will be what is called the married supper of the Lamb, Revelation 19 verses 1 to 8. Then we come back with Him. I'm sorry, Revelation 19, not 1 to 8. It's I think verses 8 and following up to verse number 11. But Revelation 19 is that married supper of the Lamb. Then we come back with Him to the earth. Having already been presented to the Father in heaven, we are now presented to the world as a bridegroom, as a bride of the bridegroom, the church of Jesus Christ.

And then we rule and reign with Him for a thousand years upon the earth. And that is what the Bible says about the return of the Messiah, the coming of the King, the plan of the end.

That's how it's all summed up. Now, there are many details involving all that. We've gone through the book of Revelation and you can get that tape series and understand exactly each and every chapter of that book of Revelation and understand what's going to take place. We have a series called The Return of the King that also maps it out. But you need to understand the plan of the end and how it all comes together because it is the most talked about doctrine in all the scripture except the doctrine of faith.

It's the very first prophecy given from man to man, the Lord is coming. You need to know that. The question is, are you ready for His coming? Are you ready for His coming? That's why James said, the Lord is near. That's why Paul said in Philippians 4, the Lord is at hand. That's why in Revelation chapter 1, Revelation 1, verse number 1, it says this, the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his bondservants, the things which must shortly take place. And he sent and communicated it by his angel to his bondservant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and heed the things which are written in it for the time is near. In other words, you can say the time is next. This is next in line of all that's going to take place at the end. This is next. It all begins with the rapture of the church, a signless event, an expected return at an unexpected time. And we will go home to be with the Lord. Sometime after we are gone, the Antichrist confirms a covenant with Israel for one week. And thus begins the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy.

And then as time unfolds, the Messiah will come again in Revelation 19 and all of his holy ones with him and the fulfillment of Enoch's prophecy, the seventh generation from Adam will be fulfilled at that time. And the king will come. There will be the sheep goat judgment. He will set up his kingdom. He will rule and reign from Jerusalem for a thousand years. The Bible says, if you live to be a hundred, you live as if you're a baby.

And at the end of that thousand year reign where Satan himself is bound by God himself, well, he will be loosed and he will gather together according to the book of Revelation, chapter 20, from the four corners of the world, all those who have not inwardly submitted to the rule of the king. Outwardly they have to because he rules the rod of iron, but inwardly they have not. Satan gathers them all together for one final battle. It's only one verse in scripture, but it's over just like that. The present heavens and the present earth are completely destroyed.

So you don't have to save the earth. You don't have to. God created it. God's going to destroy it. Okay. So now no matter how many bottles you save or how many cans you save or how many green things you aspire to, you're not going to save the earth. It's impossible. God's going to destroy it all. There'll be the great white throne judgment. All the unsaved are resurrected. They're given bodies. Why are they giving bodies? Why are they resurrected and given bodies? Because that's the difference between Hades and hell, the lake of fire.

When you die as an unbeliever, you die, you go to Hades. You go to, for lack of a better phrase, hell, and you suffer in torment until you're resurrected and you'll be resurrected and you will be given a brand new body, not a glorified body, but a body. Whether it's the old body or not, I don't know, but it's a body. And you will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to plead your case as to why you think you should not go to hell and be with God forever. And the books will be open, God's book, and your name will not be written in the land's book of life because those whose names are written in the land's book of life are already with the Lord.

And you will be cast into the lake of fire. And the difference between Hades and hell or the lake of fire is this, that when you die as an unbeliever, your soul is tormented day and night. But in the lake of fire, both soul and body are tormented day and night forever and ever and ever away from the presence of the Lord. That's why. And then there will be a new heaven and then there will be a new earth. And that celebration of the marriage supper of the Lamb that began in heaven after the rapture of the church continues on earth throughout a thousand years.

It's a continuous celebration of the Lamb. That's why there are feasts and that's why Israel is able to experience the Feast of Tabernacles in the Millennial Kingdom. All those beautiful feasts will be celebrated because they all point as a fulfillment of the shadow that was to come. It was now the substance is with them. That's why we partake of the Lord's table because it reminds us of what Christ has done, right? Well, when Israel partakes of their feast in the Millennial Kingdom, it will be a reminder of what their Messiah has done.

And that which was a shadow in the Old Testament is now fulfilled in substance by Christ. And He will be there leading and directing and guiding as those feasts take place. And then there will be the destruction of those who rebel against Christ, Great White Throne Judgment. And that celebration will continue into the new heaven and the new earth forever and ever and ever as we celebrate Christ for all eternity. That's the plan of the end. The question is, are you ready? Are you ready? And Christ gives four metaphors in Luke 12 to help you understand if you're ready.

And we'll talk about those next week. All right, let's pray. Father, we thank you for today and the opportunity we have to study your Word and to understand the outline of the end. And pray, Father, that we'd come to grips with what you've said. And Father, we'd be ready for the return of the Son of Man who comes at an hour that you do not expect, but He is coming because that's what you promised. In Jesus' name, Amen.