Christ and His Coming Kingdom

INTRODUCTION

The Seven trumpets have sounded and the bowls of God’s wrath have been poured out on the earth. We have seen the rise and the demise and fall of the Anti-Christ.

The Beast has now bruised the heel of man and he is now wounded and at the point of defeat. 

The Sovereign and Holy God is in control of all human events throughout all of history. He is upholding all things by His truth, justice, and righteous judgment. 

Christ’s return is guaranteed and it is the will of the Father that demands that He returns for His own, those names sealed in the Lambs' book of life. 

The demand that Christ returns is to finally once and for all to cut off the head of the ancient deceiver the evil serpent, Satan once and forever.

Isaiah 11:1–5 ESV

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

Isaiah 63

“Who is this one who comes in crimsoned garments, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of His strength? Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads the winepress?”

(we read earlier in Revelation 14 is about the coming king with a sickle in His hand administering justice on the earth to judge the living and the dead.)

‌Chapter 19‌ We now have the gathering of the Saints and the marriage feast and supper of the Lamb of God.

‌Look at vs. 7 and 8. The Lamb of God has now come for his bride who has made herself ready, in fine linen, bright and pure. Christ is coming bringing the Church with him. ‌

vs. 9 “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” ‌Notice that John falls down to worship at the feet of the messenger and he admonishes him not to bow and worship him.

He is to worship “God” alone. ‌Revelation from beginning to end is saturated by the fulfillment that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and tongue confess that He is Lord.

Revelation 19:11–16 ESV

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Note: Before I give you my view on the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom, I would say that this is never an issue that believers should divide over.

‌Post Millennialist‌

Believe that there is a kind of slow building up and sliding into the return of Christ.

The physical return of Christ will follow the actual millennium. That many may miss or feel we may already be in the process of the millennial kingdom.

They see the 1,000 year reign as more of a symbolic reality. ‌They believe that things will get better and better, that the Church will get better and better.

Sometimes referred to as re-constructionist.  They believe that somehow the Church can help move things forward and somehow help the come of the millennial kingdom in  coming by reconstructing society around a reality that will usher in the coming of the kingdom.

‌Kingdom theologians - Believe that the Church is going to gain some miracle power where we will overcome the forces of darkness and arrest them from the power of Satan. We want to rest these human things away from the power of darkness. (political and social forces)

‌AMillennialist‌

This view interprets Old Testament prophecies of a millennium as being fulfilled spiritually now in the church (either on earth or in heaven) or as references to the eternal state.

From the first advent of Christ till now we have been living in the millennial time period. “A” means “no”.

Those who hold this view believe there is no actual millennial reign. Most Roman Catholics hold to this view. ‌But, using the literal, historical, grammatical principles of interpretation so as to determine the normal sense of language, one is left with the inescapable conclusion that Christ will return and reign in a real kingdom on earth for a thousand years. ‌

There is nothing in the text to render the conclusion that “a thousand years” is not symbolic. Many believe that the Church is currently experiencing this reign right now.

The Establishment of the Kingdom is a Sudden and Cataclysmic event that will not be mistaken. Jesus comes in riding on a white Horse and the sword of His mouth is on a collision course with this world.

With His word and with the breath of His mouth He destroys all the evil one has done. It is not a sliding-in or somehow something that the church has brought about.

The Church will never conquer the authorities of this world and build a Church utopia in this world.

Scripture is clear that things will get worse and worse until the King of Glory Returns to make all things new.

‌Pre-Millennialist ‌

This is what I believe the Bible teaches that Christ will return at the beginning of His millennial reign to set everything up. ‌

Christ will return before the thousand-year reign and sees this as a literal thousand-year period during which Jesus Christ reigns on the earth, in fulfillment of numerous Old Testament prophecies. ‌

Note: There is no place in scripture where the year is used with a number that it is not a literal reading. The two resurrections mentioned are both physical and bodily resurrections which support the pre-millennial view. ‌

Yes, His kingdom is present now in the hearts of his people. ‌Premillennialism says that Christ will return after the events of the Great Tribulation but before the final judgments and the establishment of the new heavens and new earth, but it will be fully manifested on earth during the millennial kingdom.

Note: We will dive a bit deeper into this next week when we get to chapter 20.

Note: Pan-Millennialist - Hope it all pans out in the End.

When Christ comes the battle will take place in the valley of Megiddo. Every major battle throughout Bible history has taken place in this valley.

Revelation 19:11 ESV

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

BIG IDEA: The King is Returning to RULE and to REIGN

Jesus Exchanged a Crown of Thorns for the Crown of the King

1. The King's return will be powerful and glorious.

Now we have the 2nd time in Revelation we see the veil pulled back on heaven to give a view of what is coming.

DESCRIPTION OF HIS RETURNING

He returns Sitting on the horse as a conqueror.

The white horse symbolizes his victory and possibly His purity as well. The conquering King of the Universe is seated in victory formation in Heaven. All of the emphasis here is on the conquering ram and divine warrior.

The vantage point here is of the conquering king who has come to destroy his enemies and establish his reign.

This rider has 5 names, 4 that are revealed and one that is concealed.

VICTORY FORMATION

He returns with the words written Faithful and True.

Faithful: denotes, dependability, consistent, steady immovable rock ( Psalm 119:90 “Your faithfulness extends to all generations.”

Truth: denotes his genuineness, and authenticity, one who you can trust. What He says you can believe, when He acts throughout time and history you can believe Him and take Him at His word.  John 14:6 “i am the way and the truth and the life....”

CHARACTERISTICS OF HIS RETURN

Revelation 19:12 ESV

12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.

He returns with eyes like a flame of fire

Eyes of Fire: communicates His penetrating insight and judgment. He sees right through each and every one of us. He knows you as no one else could ever possibly know you. He created you from the dust of the earth. You are known by God. He is intimately acquainted with all your ways. The penetrating vision by which God discerns all and the “fiery” judgment that will result from his all-seeing discernment.

He returns with many Crowns

(The only crown to be worn is by the king of glory who traded a crown of thorns for the king's Crown.)

These are all the kingly crowns you could imagine, there is no one else wearing a crown except the King of Glory.

This image of the multi-crowned King Jesus inspired Matthew Bridges in 1852 to pen a majestic hymn that God’s people still love to sing:‌

Crown Him with many crowns,‌The Lamb upon His throne:Hark! ‌How the heav’nly anthem drowns‌, All music but its own!‌Awake, my soul, and sing‌, Of Him who died for thee,‌ And hail Him as thy matchless King‌ Through all eternity

He returns with a name written that no one knows

Note: There is something about Christ far beyond anything we can even comprehend or imagine.

I think many times we seem to have become to become comfortable or familiar with what we think we know about Jesus. This could cause him to no longer stand in Awe of who He is as the resurrected King of the universe. Do we stand in awe of the things we do not know about Him?

This means that throughout all of eternity, we will still grow in amazement and wonder of this Great redeemer King.

Revelation 19:13–16 ESV

13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

2. The King's return will be with His Heavenly Army

Make no mistake He is the Warrior King coming to wage War.

He returns with a robe dipped in Blood

‌The Robe dipped in Blood‌

This is not a picture of redemption but of judgment. Remember this is not His first battle, this is his last battle. ‌He has worn His battle clothes before throughout all the battles of Israel and vanquished 6  world powers that have been wiped off the face of the Earth. ‌The stains now are treading the wine press in judgment on the world.

Isaiah 66:15–16 ESV

15 “For behold, the Lord will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by the Lord shall be many.

The name is written the Word of God

Now the third name is given which is “The Word of God.”

John 1:1

“In the beginning was the word.”

1 John 1

“That which is from the beginning that no eye has looked upon.”

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When we listen to Jesus we are hearing the voice of God. Remember throughout Jesus's ministry what people said about His voice. “He speaks as one with authority.” When people heard Jesus speak it was not as if they were hearing man speak, they were hearing the very breath, pneuma of God.

He returns with an army from heaven

Revelation 19:7–9 ESV

7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

God’s Holy Army

‌The Rapture and 2nd Coming‌

John 14 ‌“When I go away I will prepare a place for you, and I am coming again to take you to where I am to that place.” (Promise by God). He is in Heaven preparing a place for us to go. ‌1 Thessalonians 4

“he will descend from heaven and with a command cry out for his own to meet him in the air.”

‌Revelation 1:7

“he is coming in the clouds and every eye will see Him and those who had rejected Him will wail on account of Him.”

‌The rapture is a catching away of those who have their home in heaven already prepared for them in heaven. In the Rapture we meet Him in the air. No judgement yet. ‌

Now here he comes all the way to earth with his saints with Him to establish their reign on the earth.  In the second coming He is coming to judge, there is no mention of judgment at the rapture. ‌

The Rapture is pre-tribulation where God catches his own away until the time of His second coming. ‌Now we see the redeemed saints of God arrayed in white garments riding on white horses following behind the victorious warrior king who is leading the way. ‌

NOTE: We must not miss the fact that He is leading the way, He will be the one going to battle not us. Jesus did not need our assistance the first time and He does not need it now. He again wins the day for those who love and trust Him.

He returns to bring judgment with the word of His mouth

The Sword

(The sword of His mouth) “We overcome the world by the word of our testimony and the Blood of the Lamb of God.” )

Hebrews 4:12 ESV

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Revelation 19:17–21 ESV

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

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3. The King's return will be to Render His VERDICT

The Valley of Decision, the Valley of God’s verdict

Joel 3:13–14 ESV

13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

NOTE: This is not the final judgment that will happen at the Great White Throne of Judgement.

This execution day of the verdict on those who have sided with Satan and taken the mark of the beast. The final judgment comes after the 1,000-year reigns. They are held captive in Hell for 1,000 until they can be resurrected and brought before their final judgment.

The Olivet Sermon (Discourse)

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Matthew 25

Jesus sermon on His own second coming. verse 31 “when the son of man comes in His glory, with all the angels, then He will sit on His throne with all His holy ones and set up his kingdom. All kingdoms will be brought before him and he will separate them one from the other, sheep’s on his right, and goat’s on his left. Come to me all of you who are blessed by my father and inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

verse 32 “All the peoples, nations, individual, all humanity.” This is every people group who have rejected Christ.  (the valley of Jehoshaphat)

The sheep stay on the earth and go on into the kingdom with Him as well as the nation of Israel. (Only believers and all the ungodly destroyed).

“these to eternal punishment, and these to Eternal Life” There was no show that they were His, remember no proof that they are His.

Note: I want you to see this because many believe that Jesus is a more docile less wrathful God.

‌Demons gather the final forces to do Battle against God.

‌Revelation 16

After the 6th angel had poured out his bowl there came out of the mouth of the dragon out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet who gathered and assembled for battle the remaining kings of the world.

‌Now why would any of these kings still have the will to fight against God after all  of the Hell that has been unleashed on them: Because the demons have worked overtime deceiving and weaving their final illusion. ‌

BEHOLD I AM COMING LIKE A THIEF‌ The assembled at Armageddon.

NOW IT IS FIGHT OR DIE, WHATEVER NUCLEAR CAPABILITY THEY MIGHT HAVE, WHATEVER EARTHLY POWER THESE NATIONS POSSESS.

The Victory is a Foregone Conclusion

verse 17

‌Angel Calls to the Birds‌

Notice that this is not the first time that birds have feasted on human flesh. Throughout all wars of antiquity have eaten the flesh of humanity. ‌

The present day army of Israel have reported that they loose more aircraft throughout the history of their air force a result of the large bird- problem especially during- the spring. ‌

A copy from Israel has been given to every airport in the world about the bird problem in Israel near Tel-Aviv. Birds hitting the canopy of the plan and literally decapitate the pilot. ‌

All of the birds migrate through Israel, because they need food, east  is baron desert and to the west is the sea. So they come directly through the fertile crest of Israel.

So, is the second coming in the spring, maybe, or maybe he will just call them earlier. ‌Israel has whats called thermals where the birds ride that thermal air into Israel and ride it out. They have now trained pilots to fly at different altitude patterns to avoid the birds. ‌This training film is now used by American Airlines.

When the time of the feast comes, the birds will know the path well. And they will come to the great supper of God.

Revelation 19:18 ESV

18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”

Eat the flesh of kings (horrible indignity) the flesh of captains (those serving the kings) the flesh of mighty men (foot soldiers) even those who are of the lower class as free and slave, small and great.

The whole world is going to become food for vultures, this is the verdict and recompense of a Holy Righteous God. Nobody escapes the Great Day of the Lord’s Judgement.

Revelation 19:19 ESV

19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.

The conquest is Accomplished

The beast and the kings of the Earth with their armies gathered to make war against God. The reality is they do not even get one shot off, there is no war to make against God.

Revelation 19:20 ESV

20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

Immediately the Beast is captured,

2 Leaders the Political Leader, and the False Prophet the Spiritual Leader led by Satan. What do you do to destroy an army you cut off the head of its leaders.

They are captured and thrown alive into the Lake of Fire the final form of what is known as Hell and the final ones to occupy it are the anti-Christ and the False Prophet.

This is not Hades that is a temporary place, this is the final result of God’s judgment.

‌Gehinna ‌Another Greek word that is translated hell is "Gehenna." This word is used twelve times in the New Testament with Jesus employing it eleven times.

Gehenna is derived from the Hebrew ge hinnom or the "valley of Hinnom." Hinnom was probably the name of a person in ancient Israel. ‌The valley of Hinnom is a deep narrow glen just outside of Jerusalem. It was also called Tophet, or the valley of dead bones.

Jeremiah wrote.‌The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the LORD. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished (Jeremiah 31:40).

‌In Old Testament times this had been the scene of the practice of child-sacrifice under some of the godless kings of Israel.‌Gehenna, or the valley of Hinnom, is an actual valley in the city of Jerusalem. In Israel's past, it was used as a place of child sacrifice. From the reign of Josiah onward, it was used as a garbage dump where the fires burned the refuse continuously. Jesus used it as an illustration of the final judgment of the wicked.

Revelation 19:21 ESV

21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

‌John Philips wrote‌John Phillips has written, ‌

“Then suddenly it will be all over. In fact, there will be no war at all in the sense that we think of war. There will be just a word spoken from Him who sits astride the great white horse. Once He spoke a word to a fig tree and it withered away. Once He spoke a word to howling winds and heaving waves, and the storm cloud vanished and the waves fell still. Once He spoke to a legion of demons bursting at the seams of a poor man’s soul, and instantly they fled. And now He speaks a word, and the war is over.

2 Peter 3:3 ESV

3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.

Read 2 Peter 3...

‌Where is the sign of His coming? There cannot be a sign of His coming the world just keeps plodding along, no judge, no God, no accountability. ‌You know the argument, it is one of ridicule, one of intellectualism.

They pray on the consciences of people who have been  waiting, and waiting and waiting, hoping and hoping and hoping. ‌

They follow out of the own lusts of their wicked hearts and anyone who falls their own hearts do not want a day of reckoning or judgement. It’s the argument from uniformity.

There cannot be a divine judgement like that, there never has and never will be. We have been around billions of years, Christians just use this as a scare tactic to hold you against your will. ‌

Peter says in 1 Peter “I think they forget the food, it escapes there notice that God turned loose and immense catastrophic flood that judged the wickedness of man’s heart. ‌The world is just one big ball in the cosmos selecting out the ones who will survive and it just keeps plodding along. All of this is poppy Cock and nonsense. Whaaaa Whaaaa Whaaaa! ‌Argument Against all of This Dribble‌

We argue from Scripture, History, Eternity‌

GOD DOES NOT OPERATE BY YOUR CLOCK WORLD

‌If you look at your clock and calendar and say well, it never happened before, and it never will, you had better look again. It’s time to get a new clock. ‌

When you understand that God is not bound by your timetable, then you can operate from a position of GRACE. ‌

“The Lord is not slow in fulfilling his promises as some count slowness, He is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish,  but that all should come to repentance.”

CONCLUSION

2 Peter 3:10 ESV

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

‌The question is, what kind of person do you want to be in the end.

Do you want to be with the mockers and deceived of the worlds intellectual na-sayers of the world. ‌

I think that you want to be the kind of person who escapes the judgement that is coming. ‌

That is only sensible, God’s Grace, I pray that you are that kind of person this morning. If not, what are you waiting for?

‌Grace, Grace, God’s Grace, Grace that will pardon and cleanse within, Grace, Grace, God’s Grace, Grace that is Greater than all my Sin!