Things Which Must Shortly Come to Pass, part 2

Revelation 1:1–3

Jesus said in Revelation 22:12, “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Don’t think of eternity as far out there. It’s a trumpet sound away; it is a heartbeat away. The Bible describes our earthly lives as a flash of vapor from a steaming kettle. Here’s some things you ought to be doing:

I. Look forward to His Return with Excitement:

II. Look Forward to His Return with Understanding:

1. The Rapture of the Church

2. The Great Tribulation

3. The Battle of Armageddon

4. The Millennial Reign

5. The Final Judgment:

A. At the beginning of the Millennial Reign, the devil is bound in a bottomless pit. (Revelation 20:1-3) After the Millennium will come the final judgment. (Revelation 20:11) So, the Church is raptured. The antichrist is revealed. The Tribulation Period begins; it goes for seven years. At the end of that is the battle of Armageddon—the beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire. Jesus reigns on earth for a thousand blessed years. Satan is loosed for a season and then, we have the Great White Throne Judgment.

6. The New Heavens and New Earth:

A. (Revelation 21:7-8) The Bible teaches an everlasting heaven, and an everlasting hell. These are things that God says are going to shortly come to pass. He speaks of the sureness of it, and it “must … come to pass” that’s the sureness of it. It “must shortly come to pass” that is the nearness of it.

III. Look Forward to His Return with Peace:

a. One of these days we are going to see our dear Lord Jesus face to face. God has given you a message to let you know what is going to happen. So we look forward to His return with peace. (Revelation 1:2-3) The word “blessed” is the same word Jesus used in the Beatitudes. It means “peaceful,” “happy,” “to be congratulated.” And, what brings peace? God gave you a book. You can anticipate Jesus’ coming with peace.” “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear.”

IV. Look Forward to His Return with Urgency:

a. And then, last of all, you need to look forward to His return with urgency. Look at the last part of verse 3: “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand”—“the time is at hand.” That means that it is imminent. It could happen at any moment. Now, if that were true in John’s time, how much truer is it in our time?

b. Israel has return to her land (Matthew 24:34), Russia’s rise to power and aggression (Ezekiel 38:15-16), the revival of the Roman Empire (Daniel 2; Revelation 17), the rise of the occult (1 Timothy 4:1), an increase in earthquakes (Matthew 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11, Romans 8:22), an increase in famines and pestilence (Luke 21:11), His return is ever imminent—“things which must shortly”—quickly—“come to pass.” The time is ever at hand.