Why Jesus Must Return, Part 3

Let's pray together Father, we thank you once again for a chance to look into the Word of God and pray that you'd open our eyes that we might behold wonderful things out of your law We pray in Jesus' name, Amen We are looking at the return of the King and we are looking at what the Bible says concerning the arrival of the Messiah once again We began this part of our study by looking at how God's person demands the return of the King We saw that when we looked at God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit We saw when the tidings of the Father taught us that He was going to return

We saw that the teachings of the Son were all centered around the return of the Messiah We saw the testimony of the Spirit as well And then we moved to point number two and that was the purpose of God determines the return of the King The purpose of God determines the return of the King And we told you last week that there are three purposes that God has and that is number one, a purpose for the church, number two, a purpose for the nations, and number three, a purpose for Israel The purpose for the church is joy with God

The purpose for the nations is judgment by God and the purpose for Israel is justification before God So in other words, God is going to return, God is going to come back to this earth because of the promise of joy with Himself The Bible says that when it's all said and done, the Lord will say, well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord

And we looked at God's purpose for the church, that God began the church age and God is going to close out that church age when that last person, whether it be Jew or Gentile, is saved during that church age period, He will come again and receive us unto Himself And 1 Thessalonians 4 verses 13 to 18 speak about the fact that the dead in Christ will rise first, we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord

Now we're going to meet the Lord in the air, that's important because at the rapture of the church, the Lord does not come back to earth But the rapture of the church is what inaugurates the return of the King

In other words, because Jesus comes to take the bride home to be with Him, we talked about that last week, how the bride is presented to the Father in heaven, there's the legal contract already been made, we've been purchased by the blood of Christ, the betrothal period is a time where the gifts are given and we receive the gift of the Spirit, and now comes the marriage supper of the Lamb, the great feast, and that begins in heaven and will continue on earth during the millennial reign of Christ for a thousand years, and that marriage will ultimately be consummated in the new heaven and the new earth

We talked about that last week But because God has a purpose for the church, we know He is going to return and take us home to be with Him God has a purpose for the nations, and that is He is going to judge them And we told you last week when we studied the book of Joel, Joel chapter 3, that there's a particular place on earth where that judgment happens This is not the great white throne judgment that happens after the millennium, before the new heaven and new earth in Revelation chapter 20

What this is, is the judgment of the nations, and we saw that in Joel chapter 3 there is a place, you can go there today, it's called the Valley of Jehoshaphat, another name is the Valley of Decision, another name is the Kidron Valley, all the same When you descend the Mount of Olives, before you ascend back up to the city of Jerusalem, there is a valley there called the Valley of Decision, the Valley of Jehoshaphat

And in Joel chapter 3 there is that emphasis where the nations will come against the Messiah and He will meet them and He will judge them, Matthew 25 talks about when the Son of Man appears He will sit on a throne, He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left And that is the judgment of the nations in Matthew chapter 25

And that takes place right before the millennial kingdom begins and it happens right after Jesus Christ ascends from heaven and right after the battle of what we call the battle of Bozrah, not the battle of Armageddon, and we'll talk to you about that as time goes on But there will be a great battle, Jesus will prevail as Revelation 14 so details and Revelation 19 as well, where the nations of the world come together to fight against God, to somehow think that they can defeat God, but God brings them to the great tribunal He judges them, He judges all the nations

And Psalm 2 even speaks about this, Psalm 2 says it this way, it says, Why are the nations in an uproar, and the vain people devised in a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them, then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury But as for me, I have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain, I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord

He said to me, Thou art my son, today I have begotten thee, ask of me, and I will surely give the nations as thine inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as thy possession Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt shatter them like earthenware Now therefore, O kings, show discernment, take warning, O judges of the earth, worship the Lord with reverence, and rejoice with trembling Do homage to the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled How blessed are all who take refuge in Him

The Messiah has promised the land as His possession, the nations as His inheritance Well for Him to take that, He must return to earth That takes place when He judges the nations And so there is a purpose for the church, and that purpose is joy with God We are the bride, He's the bridegroom He's going to come, take us home to be with Him, He's prepared a place for us And when we go home to be with Him, we are presented to His Father, we are presented to all the holy angels, and the marriage supper of the Lamb begins, that feast begins in heaven

And seven years later, we return to earth with Him, almost as if there's another presentation to the world of the bride, and throughout the millennial kingdom, and into the new heaven and new earth, that marriage supper continues, as a celebration of the bridegroom with his bride And then there's a purpose for the nations They will be judged by God, they will be judged at a particular place on earth, the valley of decision, the valley of Jehoshaphat If God says there's going to be a particular place where that judgment takes place, then we know that He must return to this earth

And thirdly, there's a purpose for Israel, and that is justification before God God is going to save them God is going to do a great work in the nation of Israel Turn back with me if you would to Romans chapter 11 This is where we were last week, and I want to take you back here just for a moment to show you a couple of things as we embark on understanding God's purpose for Israel This is so important It was, it was Frederick the Great who summoned his chaplain to come to him, and he asked his chaplain one question

He said, I want you to give me proof positive that the Bible is the Word of God, that the Bible is trustworthy, that I can believe what the Bible says, but you must be brief The chaplain said, I can do that, and I can do that in one word, Israel Israel proves the truthfulness and the trustworthiness of the Bible Now, a nation so abused, so assaulted, is the one inexplicable existence and truth to the validity of the Bible, because God made a promise to Israel

And as they have been treated so wrongly for so many years, the very fact that they exist as an ethnic people today in the land of Israel, their homeland, is proof positive as to the trustworthiness of the Bible When in Romans chapter 11, we know that in verse 2, Paul says, God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew So we know that God has a plan for Israel In verse number 25 it says, for I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed or to be ignorant

Now, we have told you over so many months that there are seven occasions in the New Testament where Paul says, I don't want you to be ignorant. I don't want you to be uninformed And we've looked at them with you throughout our years together And this is one of those One of them is 1 Thessalonians 4, which says, I don't want you to be ignorant about the coming of the Lord Here I don't want you to be ignorant about the salvation of Israel In other words, Paul says, brethren, I don't want you to be in all millennialists. I want you to believe in the future for Israel Listen to what he says

Lest you be wise in your own estimation that a partial hardening has happened to Israel It's not a full hardening It's a partial hardening It's a passing hardening It's a providential hardening It is a purposeful hardening But it's only partial because Paul was a Jew and Paul was saved All the apostles were Jews and they were saved So not all Israel is hardened There's only a partial hardening And that hardening happens to Israel until, there's a time element involved, the fullness of the Gentiles has come in In other words, there is a completion of a certain time that must come to its end

And that is called the fullness of the Gentiles Paul says, when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and the word there is erkomai, is a word that deals specifically with redemption and salvation So in other words, when the church age is completed and all those within the church have been saved, then it says, thus all Israel will be saved Now we know that the all Israel is not every single Jew How do we know that? Because Zechariah chapter 13 tells us that there's only a third, a remnant of Israel that will be saved and taken into the kingdom

So the all of Romans 11 is the all of the one third remnant left at the end of the tribulation You follow me so far? And then it says these words, the deliverer will come from Zion He will remove ungodliness from Jacob and this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins God has made a covenant to Israel to take away their sins Israel has not been replaced by the church There is no proof in the scripture where the church has replaced Israel None None whatsoever The Old Testament prophets never taught that Jesus never taught that

The apostles never taught that and the Jews never believed that So nowhere in the Bible can you find that the church has now replaced Israel and all the promises that were given to Israel are now fulfilled in the church That's not true because Paul says there will be a time when Israel's sins will be taken away And then he says this, from the standpoint of the gospel, they are enemies for your sake In other words, you're saved because there has been a partial hardening to Israel But from the standpoint of God's choice, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers

For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable Let me tell you something The calling of the church is irrevocable When you are called by God and saved by God, that's irrevocable There is a remnant of Israel, one third of them, by Zechariah 13 standards, which encompasses all of Israel that will be saved because God has promised to take away their sins

Now, because the king is going to return and because God has made a promise to Israel and the fulfillment of Abrahamic covenant and new covenant can only happen when there's a fulfillment of the new covenant in Israel's life That is, there's a forgiveness of sins And when there's a forgiveness of sins, the land is theirs and the Lord will rule from the city of Jerusalem Now, that's important because we need to understand that with the arrival of the Messiah comes fulfillment not only of new covenant but Abrahamic covenant and Davidic promises

The Davidic covenant that there will be a king who will rule from Jerusalem and Israel will have their king and they will be in their land So what does the Bible say about that? Well, if you go back to Isaiah chapter 2, Isaiah chapter 2, verse number 1, the word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains and will be raised above the hills and all the nations will stream to it

And many peoples will come and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us concerning his ways and that we may walk in his paths, for the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem That tells us that in the last days, during the time of Israel's inhabiting the land, they will have a king He will be on a mountain, a mountain called Zion Now turn with me to Zechariah chapter 8, Zechariah chapter 8 This is mentioned again

Verse number 1, then the word of the Lord of hosts came saying, thus says the Lord of hosts, I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her Thus says the Lord, I will return to Zion and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem Then Jerusalem will be called the city of truth and the mountain of the Lord of hosts will be called the holy mountain There it says, the Lord says, I will return to Zion Now listen, what is Zion? Well number 1, Zion is a specific hill in Israel Zion is a specific hill in Israel

If you're standing on the mount of Olives and you're looking down that mount to the mountain valley, looking upward toward the city of Jerusalem If you were to go left, that would be south, okay, I'll do it this way for you If you go left, that would be south At the southern wall of Jerusalem, there's a hill It's called the hill of Ophel It's the original city of David You can go there today and they've excavated David's palace And you can go there and they've excavated some of the king's tombs At the base of that city is the pool of Siloam All that's recorded in the scriptures, okay

That's called the hill of Ophel Zion, in scripture, refers to a specific hill, a hill called the hill of Ophel It's a hill where David had set up his kingdom It's a hill that David ruled from It's a very important hill It is a specific hill Psalm 2 says that the Messiah will reign from that hill Over in Isaiah chapter 10, verse number 32, it's called the hill of Jerusalem In scripture, Zion is a specific hill In scripture, Zion is a sacred mountain It is a sacred mountain It's a place where the temple of Messiah will be in the future, during the reign of the king

How do we know that? Micah chapter 4 Micah chapter 4, verses 1 and 2 And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it And many nations will come and say, come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us about his ways, and that we may walk in his paths And from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem It is a sacred mountain Psalm 48

Psalm 48, verse number 1, says these words about Zion Psalm 48, verse number 1 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, his holy mountain It is a sacred mountain, beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion in the far north, the city of the great king So we begin to understand a little bit about Zion, that it is a specific hill, as the Bible so states, plus it is a sacred mountain, plus it's called a significant city in scripture, because in 1 Kings 8, 1, it's called the city of David

In Psalm 48, verse number 1 and 2, it's called the city of our God In Isaiah 52, verse number 1, it's called the holy city And in Zachariah chapter 8, verse number 3, it's called the city of truth So it's a significant city It is a sacred mountain It is a specific hill It's also, it's also a select people Zion in scripture, in fact 154 times in the Old Testament, Zion refers to a specific people, especially a people who felt they had been forsaken by God And all throughout scripture, you can see where God refers to Zion That's why he says I am jealous for Zion

Not only is it a place, not only is it a specific hill and a sacred mountain, it's a special people, the nation of Israel That's why we're called Zionists It's a term of derision in the Palestinian world But for us, it's a term of blessing To be a Zionist means that you believe that Israel has a right to the land and that one day they will have a king who rules in that land We are called Christian Zionists because we believe in a future for Israel We believe that a king will rule in Jerusalem from the city of David But I also want you to note this about Zion

Not only is it a special or specific hill or sacred mountain and significant city and select people, it is a very special place to our God It's a special place to our God Psalm 9 verse number 11 says this about Zion Psalm 9 verse number 11, it says, sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion Isaiah 8 says the same thing For Zion is a place where God himself dwells It's a very special place And why is it special? Well, that's because if you were to look in Psalm 81, it says this, I'm sorry, Psalm 87 verse number 2

The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwelling places of Jacob Why is it a special place? Because God loves that place more than any other place, that's why That's why it's special And why did he love that place? Because the Bible says his name is there His name is in Zion Our Lord is committed to fulfilling the prophecies given to Israel because he has a special place in his heart for that nation

And we know that according to Psalm 87, that God loves the dwelling places of Jacob more than all the other places, but Isaiah 18 verse number 7 says that it's called the place of his name Mount Zion is the place of the name of God, and we've told you this before, that the typography of the land demonstrates the name of God on Mount Zion, because there are three valleys that surround Mount Zion The Kidron Valley, the Valley of Decision, the Valley of Jehoshaphat, the Central Valley or the Tyropian Valley, and the Hinnom Valley

And an aerial view of those three valleys looks exactly like the Hebrew letter Shin, which stands for Shaddai, which is the name of God on the city of God, that's why he loves the dwellings of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob, because his name is there And why is his name there? It's because it's his He put his name there And why did he put his name there? Because he's coming back there To do what? To rule and reign just like he said So God has a promise to Israel He's going to justify them He's going to declare them righteous He's going to clothe them with the garments of salvation

He's going to save their souls And when he does, the promises of Abrahamic covenant, that is they're going to have a land and dwell in that land, the promise of the Davidic covenant, they're going to have a Lord who rules over that land, will all be fulfilled And that's why the Bible speaks so abundantly about the land and what will happen when the king returns Turn in your Bible, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 64, Isaiah chapter 64, I'm sorry, Isaiah 62 We read Isaiah 2, 1 to 3 You can read Isaiah chapter 11 verses 1 to 10

It talks to you about what's going to happen during that millennial kingdom, during that reign when the king is here It talks about the branch who's going to come And the sevenfold ministry of the spirit of God that will be upon him And we told you that at his baptism, the fulfillment of Isaiah 11, 1 and 2 took place so that all would know that the spirit of the Lord was upon him When you come to Isaiah 61, it says, the spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord Now, we know that that's exactly what Jesus said in Luke chapter four in that synagogue in Nazareth But that's exactly where he stopped He didn't continue with the phrase and the day of vengeance of our God, why? Because it wasn't for the day of vengeance at that time It was for the day of redemption, not the day of retribution And so he told them that the spirit of the Lord was upon him

And every Jew would know that Isaiah 61 is about the Messiah who would come and redeem his people So when Jesus spoke in Nazareth and quoted Isaiah 61, but he stopped and didn't complete the verse because it wasn't the day of vengeance It was the year of favor It was a year where the king came to redeem his people That's what it was about So if that was all literally fulfilled, then the day of vengeance then must be literally fulfilled as well Would you not agree with that? Sure But look at Isaiah chapter 62

This is a great chapter because it deals with the beautiful celebration of Israel and what God is going to do with his people when he returns All the fulfillment of covenant promise that God had promised them a land, that God had promised them a king who would rule in that land, that God would take away their sins All that was promised by the Old Testament prophets and the Jews believe that And so when you come to Isaiah chapter 62, you realize the importance of Israel Look what it says

For Zion's sake I will not keep silent and for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet until her righteousness goes forth like brightness and her salvation like a torch that is burning And the nations will see your righteousness and all kings your glory and you will be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will designate Israel will be called by a new name What is that new name? You know that in the book of Revelation it talks about how God's going to put his name on us and the name of the city of his God on us and a new name on us

Remember that? Well, Israel also is going to be called by a new name Why? Because they would have been redeemed by their Redeemer, their Messiah And God is speaking and God promises that he will call them by a new name and he tells us that the nations, the Gentiles will see your righteousness and all kings your glory No one has seen that in Israel, have they? Of course not, but they will when they are called by a new name Then listen to this, not only will they be called by a new name, they will be crowned with glory and honor

Look what it says in verse three, you also will be crowned or be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hand of your God They'll be crowned with glory They will be changed from all things they have known in the past Look what it says in verse four, it will no longer be said of you forsaken, nor to your land will it any longer be said desolate, but you will be called my delight is in her and your land married for the Lord delights in you and to him your land will be married For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you

And as a bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you Not only will they be changed from what they've known in the past and not only will they be crowned with glory and not only will they be called with a new name, but they will be characterized, listen, as the bride of God himself That's what he said That's exactly what he said As a bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you And then it says, they will be considered a praise in all the earth

Verse number seven and give him no rest until he establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth Now they are a cup of trembling according to Zechariah 12, verse number two in the earth, but they will be called a cup of praise in the future And then it says they will be converted by the coming of the Messiah in verse 11, behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth, say to the daughter of Zion, lo, your salvation comes, behold, his reward is with him and his recompense before him And they will be comforted by their relationship with the Lord

Verse number 12, and they will call, and they will call them the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord, and you will be called sought out, a city not forsaken That's what God is going to do with Israel

Over back in Zechariah again, in Zechariah chapter eight, it says in verse number 20, thus says the Lord of hosts, it will be that the peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities and the inhabitants of one will go to another saying, let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts. I will also go, so many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord So the Lord is going to be in Jerusalem and the people are going to come to seek him

Verse 23, thus says the Lord of hosts, in those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew saying, let us go with you for we have heard that God is with you Folks, that's not happening today, but it will happen tomorrow when the Lord returns They will want to go and see, see the Lord who reigns in Jerusalem The Bible says over in Zechariah chapter 14, verse number nine, nine, and the Lord will be King over all the earth In that day, the Lord will be the only one and his name, the only one

So that's not today, but there's going to be a day where there's going to be a theocracy, a true biblical dictatorship where the King himself rules from Jerusalem He'll be the only King and it says, and all the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Ramon, south of Jerusalem But Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin's gate as far as the place of the first gate to the corner gate and from the tower of Hanel to the King's wine presses and people will live in it and there will be no more curse for Jerusalem will dwell in security

Listen folks, the only time Jerusalem will dwell in security is in the millennial kingdom That's it No other time This is the time they dwell safely They dwell in security because their King is on the throne Folks, this is important Why? Because Jeremiah 23, Jeremiah 23 verse number five and verse number six says that the Lord will execute justice and righteousness in the earth That is in the earth when the branch arrives, the Lord of righteousness, justice will be executed in the earth So there's going to be a King

He will reign in Jerusalem on Mount Zion and the nations of the world will come to that King and 10 Gentiles will grab the garment of one Jew and say, take us to your King because there will be the Holy One who rules and reigns from Jerusalem That's all a part of the promise given to Israel That's why in Acts chapter one, the disciples asked the question, is it at this time you're going to restore the kingdom to Israel? Now don't you think if there wasn't going to be a kingdom for Israel that Jesus could have said, guys, I'm going to let you know something We're not going to do that

Plans have changed We're going to replace you with the church He could have said that he had the perfect opportunity, right? He could have said, guys, you know what? You misunderstood what I said for 40 days about the kingdom It's not yours We're going to give it to the church because you rebelled against my authority We're going to give it to somebody else and not you guys Perfect opportunity for Jesus to say something, but he didn't do that Instead, he said, it is a time fixed by my father in heaven It's a fixed time that there's going to be a restoration of the kingdom to Israel

And then he ascends into heaven and those two men in white apparel, whether it be Moses or Elijah, or whether it be two angels, we don't know who they are, but they said, this same Jesus will descend exactly as he ascended into glory In other words, he will literally return just like he literally left He's coming back again Now, folks, to me, that's crucial And what you believe about Israel will dictate what you believe about the future Israel is the key to the future If you don't believe in a future for Israel, then you have to somehow allegorize all the texts about Israel for the church

You have to do that By the way, over in the book of Galatians, those people who believe in a replacement theology, scores of them, by the way, we are in the minority They say in Galatians 6, 16, and those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God The replacement theologians say that the Israel of God is the church who replaced Israel That's one of the proof texts they use But the problem is, that's not what it says The Israel of God is just a true Jew

Understand the context of Galatians, because in Galatians, he writes against the Judaizers who believe in keeping the ceremonies and keeping the rituals and keeping circumcision to be saved So he writes against them to help the church of Galatia understand the truth So to interpret the Israel of God is to say that this is a genuine Jewish Christian, a true Jew And Paul in Romans would say, there's a difference between a Jew inwardly and a Jew outwardly The true Jew is not one who is a Jew outwardly, but a true Jew is one who is a Jew inwardly That is, there has been a circumcision of the heart

There has been an internal change inside That's a true Jew Because the external Jew is a Jew because nationally, he's a son of Abraham But spiritually, he's not a son of God To be a son of God, you've got to be born inwardly, in other words, you've got to be born again from the inside out That's what makes a true Jew So all Galatians talks about is the genuine Jewish believer who has committed their life to Christ in contrast to the Judaizers who are not the true Israel of God because they had adopted another system of salvation, a works-based system

All that to say, Jesus is going to return because the person of God demands it God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit The purposes of God determine it And that's all review And the priority of God will deliver it That's point number three That's tonight The priority of God will deliver the king Three areas The priority of God The vindication of his son The destruction of Satan And the expectation of the saints First of all, the vindication of his son The last picture the world saw of Christ was at Calvary That's the last picture they saw

The last picture the world saw of Christ was a beaten, bloodied, naked, so-called Messiah hanging on a tree That's the last way the world saw him How do we know that? Because when he rose from the dead, he didn't appear to one unbeliever He only appeared to believers Right? Why is that? Because the believers were the ones who doubted his resurrection It was the unbelievers who believed he was going to be resurrected That's why they had to muster up this lie, this deception about where the body was

But on top of that, Jesus never appeared to one unbeliever after the resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15 tells us who he appeared to And they were all believers, every one of them And so the last picture the world sees of our Messiah is he is stripped naked, he is beaten, his bones are showing forth, his body is bloodied, his face has been marred beyond recognition So as he hung on the tree, he was unrecognizable as a man That's why when they brought him out at the, called Ekehomo in the city of Jerusalem, Pilate said, behold the man In other words, it was a play on words

If you can believe this, behold it, he really is a man, even though you can't recognize him as a man You see, so that's the true, that's the way the world saw him That's how he ended his life on this earth for the unbelieving world to see And when he was resurrected, before he ascended, he appeared to over 500 different individuals and he ascended up into glory, but that won't be the last picture the world sees of him because he will return It's called the vindication of his son, the coronation of the king, the exaltation of the Lord He is going to return

Remember Psalm 22, that Messianic Psalm, verse 16 describes what took place during his suffering For dogs have surrounded me, a band of evildoers has encompassed me, they pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones They look, they stare at me, they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots That all was fulfilled in his first coming But you go down to verse number 27, all the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will worship before thee, for the kingdom is the Lord's and he rules over the nations

He's going to return He's going to come again Turn with me in your Bible if you would to Matthew chapter 26, Christ is before Caiaphas One of the unique places we go in Israel is to the house of Caiaphas It's the exact spot, we know exactly where it is It's not a traditional spot, it's an exact spot In fact, you can ascend and descend the exact stairs that were there over 2,000 years ago that would lead down to the Kidron Valley that would take you over to the Mount of Olives

It would be the same route they would go to get Jesus after they arrested him in Gethsemane and took him over the Kidron Brook, up those stairs to the house of Caiaphas And when we go there, we talk about what took place in that house, with that mock trial It was an illegal trial And we go into great detail to show how that trial was an illegal trial and how Peter could see everything that was happening to the Lord because that was the place where the Lord would turn and look at Peter and realize, Peter would realize how he had denied his God when he so vehemently said he would not do so

It's at that house, he's before Caiaphas, and it's at that place where they would take their fists and they would slap his face and they would spit on him, and Peter would see all that And it says in verse 63, but Jesus kept silent and the high priest said to him, I adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God And Jesus said to him, you have said it yourself, nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven

And Jesus says, this is the way you see me now, bloodied, beaten, mocked, spit upon, that's the way you see me now, but this is not the last way you're going to see me You will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds. I will come again And that is a direct reference to Daniel 7 verses 13 and 14, which every Jew knows that the Son of Man, one like the Son of Man, when Daniel saw the ancient of days, he saw one like the Son of Man, coming on great clouds of glory, and at that time he, he, he enacts his dominion and rule over all the earth, at that time he does so

And Jesus is demonstrating to Caiaphas that he truly is the Son of Man He truly is the Son of God He truly will come again, for you have not seen the last of him, for he will come in all of his glory and all of his splendor and all of his majesty And the Bible says in Matthew 24, verse number 27, for just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather

But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will give its light and the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heaven will be shaken, 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 on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory, 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

You'll see the Son of Man coming in power and great glory Look at Revelation chapter 1, Revelation chapter 1, verse number 7, behold, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him, and even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him, even so, amen How will all the world see him? They will see him because he comes in great power and glory, and the glory speaks of three things of our Messiah It speaks of number one, his beauty

It speaks of number two, his brightness, and speaks of number three, his bigness, because glory in the Old Testament is a word that deals with weight and heaviness, bigness, and the heavier you were, the more glory you had The heavier your riches, the more glory you had The heavier your land, the more glory you had Well, the one with ultimate glory is the biggest of all bigness, okay, it's the Lord himself So when he comes in all of his power, in all of his glory, the whole world will see him Every eye will see him, it says, because when he comes, his coming will be visible

His coming will be vengeful, and his coming will be victorious, because he is the king, he is the victorious warrior, he is the Lord of hosts, he is the king of Israel, and when he returns, it will be vengeful, but it will be victorious, because every eye will see him The Bible says in Revelation 1, verse number 7, every eye will see him, that's every person, even those who pierced him, that's a Jewish nation Zechariah 12, verse number 10, they will look on him in whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as an only child

And then it says, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him The word for mourn is kato, which means to cut with a knife They're not mourning over him because they're sad, they're mourning over him because they're mad

That's why they're mourning, they're cutting themselves, and that's why in Revelation chapter 6, when the king returns, they don't repent, what do they do? They cry for the rocks to fall upon them and to kill them, because they don't want to face their judge, their maker, their king, not knowing that once they die, they are immediately ushered before the throne of God to be judged They don't understand that But every eye will see him, because that's how it's been ordained So you have, number one, the vindication of the son Number two, you have the destruction of Satan

Listen, Satan is the prince of this, and ruler of this world, is he not? All through the book of John, three times, it talks about how he is the god of this age First John 5 says that the whole world lies in the lap of the evil one During the temptation of Christ, he was able to show Christ all the kingdoms of the world in one moment That's pretty powerful He was once the anointed sheriff He was the highest of all angels at one point, before his fall And yet, he was able to show Christ all the kingdoms of the world, and offer him all those kingdoms, because all those kingdoms are his

For the present For a short time But there's coming a time where the king takes back the earth That's Revelation chapter 5 Revelation chapter 5, verse number 1, and I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals This is the title deed to the earth God the father has given the earth to his son He's given the earth as an inheritance to his son And this is the title deed to the earth

And Roman law required that any title deed be sealed seven times And so what John sees in his vision in heaven is the Lord, God the father, on his throne, having a seal in his hand, sealed up with seven seals And the angel says, who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals? And no one in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book or to look into it Why? Because nobody owns it That's why And I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it And one of the elders said to me, stop weeping

Behold, the lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals And I saw between the throne with four living creatures and the elders, a lamb standing as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth And he came and he took it out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb, having each one a harp and golden bulls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints

And they sang a new song saying, worthy art thou to take the book and to break its seals, for thou was slain and it's purchased for God with thy blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation And now it's made them to be a kingdom and priest to our God, and they will reign upon the earth And there's an exaltation of the name of God Why? Because he's the only one worthy to break the seals He's the one who is the rightful heir to the land

And as he breaks the seals and the seals are broken, and with the seventh seal being broken comes the blowing of the seven trumpets, and with the seventh trumpet blowing comes the pouring of the seven bowls of judgment upon the earth It's all a picture of what Christ is going to do when he returns, because he's the rightful heir to this earth The usurper has it now, but it won't be for long The only power Satan had was death, and Christ took that away from him when he was raised from the dead He took the sting out of death through his resurrection Because I live, Christ says, you too will live

And Christ will come back to this earth, and he will set up his kingdom, and Revelation 20 says that Satan will be bound for a thousand years, and at the end of those thousand years he will be released, but only for a brief moment, because then he will be cast into the lake of fire, and that will be the end of any satanic influence ever, because the king has a priority, and that's the destruction of Satan and the vindication of himself And lastly, the expectation of the saints The expectation of the saints

It's important to realize that our Lord has made a promise to his people, and God is not going to give us false hope He wants us to believe in his return, his coming again And I love what the Bible says in Romans chapter 8, verse number 18, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God Do you know that creation, the earth, groans and anxiously awaits the manifestation, the revealing of the sons of God

See we know we're children of the living God, right? But when the world sees us, they don't know that until there is a revealing of the sons of God, a manifestation of the sons of God, the fullness of our adoption, the completion of our redemption when we receive glorified bodies And all of creation groans and moans and sighs because the earth itself has been cursed The earth has been cursed, says Genesis chapter 3

There are weeds, there are thistles, there are thorns, and the earth is cursed, but it moans and it groans for its redemption, which will come with the manifestation of the sons of God And during the millennial reign of Christ, there'll be a semblance, a testing of what it's going to be like in the new heaven and the new earth When everything is perfect, there is no more cursed earth There is no more cursed heavens Everything's cursed, and the reason everything's cursed is because man will never get a glimpse of perfection while he lives in sin, just won't

So the Bible says, for the creation was subjected to futility, aimlessness, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pain of childbirth together until now The earth is in labor until the manifestation of the sons of God And when that happens, the earth will no longer be in labor It will give forth the birth of its child

Verse 23, and not only this, but also we ourselves having the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves grow within ourselves, waiting eagerly for the adoption of sons, the redemption of our body, for in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope And why does one also hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see with perseverance, we wait eagerly for it We persevere because there is a hope What's the hope? The manifestation of the sons of God, the fullness of our adoption, the redemption of our bodies, the completion of glorification

We are eagerly anticipating that day And so not only does creation groan, but we ourselves are groaning and moaning as a bride anticipates the arrival of the bridegroom We eagerly expect what Christ is going to do in our lives That's why Jesus is going to return He's not going to give us hope and then give us and dash all those hopes and say, I'm not coming back. I was just fooling you No, he's going to come back and everything's going to happen just like he said The King is coming again Let's pray Father, thank you for tonight

Thank you for giving us tonight a chance to study your word and pray, Lord, that our hearts should be touched by the truth of your word, that we might follow you in obedience, honoring and glorifying your name We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our soon coming King Amen.