The Second Coming of Jesus - pt. 2

Sunday Morning Bible Study

January 2, 2011

Introduction

· Thursday Night – Left Behind (Play clip)

· Israel Trip (play video clip). Sign up in back if interested. “Gift” coupons in back.

We’re taking a little break from the Gospel of John to talk about the Coming of Jesus.

Last week we started talking about His Second Coming.

We talked about this present “Church Age”, the Rapture, the coming war for Israel, and the beginning of the Tribulation period.

I want to start with a little more about things happening in the Tribulation period.

The Second Coming Part 2

Antichrist

Also known as the “beast” of Revelation.

His background

(Da 11:37 NKJV) He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all.

Several thoughts:

the God of his fathers – He will be Jewish, but not a practicing Jew. Keep in mind, the Jews will look initially to him as their Messiah.

The leaders of Iran belong to an extremist Islamic cult that is looking for the return of a Muslim Messiah known as the 12^th Imam. This “12^th Imam”, if he is a real person, is probably not the antichrist because he is most likely not Jewish.

the desire of women – this phrase is hard to translate. Some think this means that the antichrist might be gay. Just one possibility.

His miraculous life

(Re 13:3 NKJV) And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.

It has been suggested that he will have some sort of attempt on his life, and recovers, sort of like a resurrection.

His kingdom

(Da 9:26b NKJV)..And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary…

He is the “prince” whose people would destroy Jerusalem after the Messiah had been cut off. Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70 by the Romans.

The Antichrist will be a political ruler and will rule over some form of a revived Roman Empire.

Daniel 2 & 7 also contain prophecies linking the antichrist to a revived Roman Empire.

His sidekick

(Re 13:13–15 NKJV) —13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth— by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

We refer to this person as the “false prophet”.

What’s the “image”? A robot? CGI? A clone? Who knows?

His “mark”

(Re 13:16–18 NKJV) —16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

Most people are familiar with the “666” number.

A common suggestion is that it is some sort of numerical code that is equivalent to the name of the antichrist.

Over the years I’ve seen this mark being connected to credit cards, barcode scanners, and RFID implants. I remember in the late 70’s being afraid of getting an ATM card. I got over it.

The important thing is to understand what it is connected to.

(Re 14:11 NKJV) And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

Whatever this mark turns out to be, it will be connected to the worship of the antichrist. For the moment I wouldn’t be afraid of having a bank account or an ATM card as long as you have not pledged your worship to a man.

Who is the antichrist?

People are always trying to pin this label on whoever they don’t like. I’ve seen it pinned on everyone from popes to presidents.

He may indeed be a political leader in power today. But frankly I’m not sure anyone is going to know the identity of the antichrist because we will most likely be in heaven due to the Rapture when he is revealed. (2Th. 2:7)

We don’t look for the antichrist, we look for Jesus Christ.

Trib Believers

There will be people alive in the Tribulation that believe in Jesus.

The Two Witnesses (Rev. 11:3-6)

John (Rev. 11:3-6) mentions the “Two Witnesses” who will have a ministry for 3 ½ years, we believe the first 2 1/3 years of the Tribulation.

They can destroy their enemies with fire.

They can command the weather, stop the rain from falling, and turn water into blood.

The 144,000 (Rev. 7)

They are called the “servants of our God”.

They will have a special protection by God for a time during the Tribulation.

They are Jewish (not JW’s), 12,000 from each of the tribes (remember how God was going to be using the Jews during the Tribulation)

They are all celebate, men who have never had sex (Rev. 14:4), and live lives of purity.

Some have suggested they will be 144,000 Jewish Billy Grahams evangelizing the world.

By the middle of the Tribulation, they are no longer on earth, but in heaven (Rev. 14). Martyred maybe?

Martyrs (Rev. 20:4)

There will be others who will come to believe in Jesus, but they will not have an easy time following Jesus. Many will face death by being beheaded.

Midway in Trib.

There is a very important time marker during the seven year Tribulation.

When this event occurs, you can mark off 1290 days until Jesus returns. (Dan. 12:11)

The Abomination of Desolation

Jesus warned of it.

(Mt 24:15 NKJV) “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand)

Prophecy experts make a difference between the overall Tribulation period, and the last half, which they call the “Great Tribulation”, because things go from bad to really, really, really bad.

The prophet Daniel was the first to speak of it.

(Da 9:27 NKJV) Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”

The idea is that something incredibly horrible and “abominable” will happen which will bring “desolation”. It will result in God turning His back on something.

Paul explains it a bit further.

(2 Th 2:4 NKJV) …who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

The antichrist will enter into the Temple in Jerusalem and declare that he is “god”.

This is the “abominable” act that results in God turning His back on the restored Jewish Temple.

Judgments

One of the driving reasons behind the Tribulation is the judgment of God on a planet that is in rebellion against Him.

Some people cringe at the thought of God’s judgment, and they say that this must mean that God is not very nice.

The truth is we all long for things to be made “right”. We all want evil to be dealt with.

Terrible things will be happening on the earth like seas turning to blood, stars falling from heaven, and sores breaking out on people. Horrible things like:

(Re 16:8–9 NLT) —8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, causing it to scorch everyone with its fire.9 Everyone was burned by this blast of heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had control over all these plagues. They did not repent of their sins and turn to God and give him glory.

But in the end, the folks with the best seat watching these events (the angels) will declare:

(Re 16:7 NKJV) …“Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”

Does the Tribulation sound bad? Are you interested in learning how to survive the Tribulation? I found something that might be helpful:

Top ways surviving shark attacks:

3. Swim with fatter people.

Try to surround yourself with more appetizing companions. If you know them well, you might even try to switch their suntan lotion with A-1 Steak Sauce. This will definitely improve your odds.

2. Listen out the music.

In the event that you are foolish enough to go swimming in the ocean, listen carefully for the music, as demonstrated in the marvelous documentary film Jaws. All shark attacks are preceded by the "daah-da, daah-da" chords, which will gradually become more rapid as the shark gets closer. This is due to the Doppler Effect.

1. Don`t swim in the ocean.

Ninety-nine percent of all shark attacks take place in exceptionally large bodies of water also known as oceans. The way to determine if you are currently in an ocean is to taste the water, which should be salty.

Truthfully, the best way to survive the Tribulation is to not swim in it. Be ready for the Rapture. Open your heart to Jesus.

Armageddon

The Tribulation ends with the mother of all battles, Armageddon, described in Rev. 16:12-16:

(Re 16:16 NKJV) And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.

Armageddon means “mountain of Megiddo”. Megiddo is located in northern Israel.

They will be gathered not to fight with each other, but to fight Jesus Christ as He returns.

(Re 19:19 NKJV) And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.

The Return

It is at the battle of Armageddon that Jesus Christ returns.

(Re 19:11–16 NKJV) —11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

He is the King of Kings. I believe we might be part of the armies of heaven.

When He returns, the antichrist and false prophet are tossed into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:19-21).

The other kings and armies, and possibly all remaining unbelievers are put to death.

The Millennium

The word simply means “thousand”. In 2000 we entered a new “Millennium”, but there’s another “Millennium” that we are looking for, the one after Jesus comes back.

The Millennium is the 1,000 year kingdom that Jesus will set up when He returns.

Satan will be bound in a bottomless pit for 1,000 years. And …

(Re 20:4 NKJV) And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Some of our favorite passages in the Old Testament are speaking of this coming kingdom.

(Is 11:6 NKJV) “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.

During this time, the earth is redeemed from “the curse” of Adam’s sin. There will be no more devil around to deceive people

There will be several types of individuals who will populate the world at this time.

There will be those of us who believe now, were raptured, and who return with Jesus along with the rest of the saints. We will all live and reign with Jesus during these 1,000 years in our new, glorified bodies that never die.

There will be some people who came to believe in Jesus during the Tribulation, who somehow survived without being martyred, and who enter into the kingdom in the old fashioned bodies.

This group of people in their old fashioned bodies will be repopulating the earth during a time when people will live ridiculously long lives.

The Rebellion

We are told that after the 1,000 years are over, that Satan will be loosed for a short season (Rev. 20:7-10) in order to deceive the nations.

And there will be many who follow Satan.

The people in their old fashioned bodies will have known nothing about the choice of choosing to serve God or Satan because Satan hasn’t been around.

These folks will serve God, but not because they necessarily want to, but because they have to.

For these folks, there will be a time to make a choice.

God wants to make sure that when eternity starts, that everyone who is with Him in heaven is someone who chooses to be there.

The Great White Throne

(Re 20:11–12 NKJV) —11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

(Re 20:15 NKJV) And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

This is the final judgment where everyone in history who has rejected Jesus Christ will be raised from the dead and face God. They will be judged. They will be cast into the lake of fire.

Those who have trusted in Jesus Christ will not be judged. He died to pay the price of our judgment. Jesus said,

(Jn 3:18 NKJV) “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Eternity

(Re 21:1–4 NKJV) —1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Sound good? This is where we’re headed. This is our final destination.

When we get there, we will realize that all this pain and suffering we’ve endured will be worth it.

(2 Co 4:16–18 NLT) —16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Concern for the Lukewarm

In the book of Revelation, Jesus writes seven letters to seven churches.

I think you could make a point that the letter to the church of Laodicea was written particularly for those living in our time, near the time of the Rapture.

(Re 3:14–18 NKJV) —14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

We all like cold milk. Some folks like to drink hot/warm milk. Not too many like to drink lukewarm, sour, room temperature milk.

Jesus warns the Laodiceans that they have become lukewarm in their faith.

17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

Jesus gives advice for the church to acquire three things.

1) Refined gold

The Laodiceans were proud of their wealth, but Jesus wanted them to be wealthy in a different way, the wealth of faith that comes from the fire.

Fire represents the difficulties of life.

Peter talks about faith in this way:

(1 Pe 1:6–7 NKJV) —6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

It’s not the number of toys you own that makes you wealthy in God’s sight. God is looking for people with a solid, tested faith.

This is the person who learns to trust God while they are going through great difficulty. They learn to keep going.

Play LOTR clip, Sam’s speech

Faith refined by the fire. Faith is only refined by us learning to endure, learning to keep going even when it is hard. We keep going because we are holding on to our future hope.

2) White garments

White garments are a symbol in the Bible of a pure life (Rev. 19:8).

The Laodiceans were living shameful lives, “naked” lives, and they needed to “cover up” and perhaps put on something a little more appropriate. I’m not just talking about clothes, I’m talking about the way we live our lives.

God is concerned that we are learning to clothe our lives with good deeds. He wants us to be serving Him.

3) Eye salve

They had become blind to the things of God.

They needed to once more see what God was doing, what God was like, and where God was leading.

Elisha was a wanted man. He was getting in trouble with the king of Syria because he kept telling the king of Israel where the Syrians would attack next. The king of Syria responded by sending an army to capture Elisha.

(2 Ki 6:15–17 NLT) —15 When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha. 16 “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!”17 Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

Are your eyes open to the things of God? Can you see what God is doing? Ask God to open your eyes.

Be a servant of God who sees what God is doing.