Jesus is Coming Back Regardless if You Are Ready or Not!

Getting back to our study into the Book of Revelation and picking back up with the nation of Israel who we know to be a place and a people specially handpicked from God. Back in the biblical times, the nation of Israel entered into a covenant with God to follow Him and all His ways, but as we all can attest to, despite our best intentions, it didn't last. Their hearts weren't in the right place and soon Israel began to rebel against God. So God used Israels' enemies to scattered her to the ends of the earth, but God didn't allow them all to die. He saved a remnant that He would bring back to His land again, which happened on May 14, 1948, when the nation of Israel became a nation in one day for the second time. Ever since that time, enemies of Israel have been doing their best in hopes of destroying her again and taking over the land, but the Bible is quite clear that this will NEVER happen.

We see Israel referred to in the Great Tribulation as the day of Jacob's Trouble, because Jacob was renamed Israel by God. Israel has always been and will always be the apple of God's eye. Woe to those who turn their back against her, much like most of the countries have begun to do for the first time since 1948 and may God help us if we don't wake up soon. God's protection will always be over Israel and any people or nation that sides with them as well, like the United States has done since President Trump is in office.

In the book of Daniel 9:24 ~ "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your hold city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy." (NIV). 

These means 490 years for Daniel and his people, the Jewish people in the holy city of Jerusalem. To finish the transgression, which Jesus did on the cross, "to put an end to sin" - Jesus did that on the cross, "to atone for wickedness" - that is bringing us to God through His sacrifice and guaranteed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Sunday morning, "To bring in everlasting righteousness" - this has not happened yet. When Jesus Christ returns, He will set up His kingdom, the Bible says, and He will rule in righteousness.

Zechariah 12:9-11 ~ "On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem. And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jersusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. On the day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo." (NIV). 

This prophecy was written 1000 years before the birth of Jesus and speaks of His Second Coming. God is saying He will take out anyone who tries to mess with Israel. It is where Jesus will rule and reign. Jesus Christ is coming back and He is coming back in judgment.

Revelation 1:7 ~ "Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be~ Amen. "(NIV).

The book of Revelation is considered the book of books because the entirety of the Bible penned by 40 authors, 66 various books over 2000 years and Revelation is where we can get cross referenced to all the other books with such clarity and centrality of one theme, being Jesus. Just the book of Daniel, the book of Revelation quotes from it 31 times alone. This is the very reason so many people shy away from reading the book of Revelation, because they haven't ready any of the other books that have proceeded it. The book of Revelation also deals primarily with the nation of Israel continuing as a nation in the last days. In our lifetime, the nation of Israel still exists. It is the one nation that had existed, ceased to exist and now will exist forevermore. So many people mocked the study of Revelation, because the nation of Israel hadn't existed yet, but it does now.

We know that Christmas is coming when we see the stores bring out all their Christmas decorations even at the beginning of Fall if not before then. We know Thanksgiving is near because we see the Christmas decorations out already. We know the coming of Jesus and the rapture of the church is coming soon because we see the signs on the horizon and the Bible is pretty clear just like Christmas decorations, as to what those days ahead would look like before He returns.

So in today's study we will look at three things from verse 7 in Revelation.

Jesus Christ is Coming Again. His coming will be a universal event.

"Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen." (NIV). 

This means that it will be a global event. This refers to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This is important. The first coming of Jesus Christ, He came to the nation of Israel, He was born in Bethlehem, presented Himself as King on Palm Sunday week, in Israel, in Jerusalem to the Jewish people. That was His First Coming. His Second Coming is very much like His First Coming in purpose, it's a presentation to the Jewish people and the nation of Israel, as the Messiah. Between the First and Second Coming, we have a predominately Gentile event known as the Rapture of the Church. The reason this is being brought up is because we are going to be looking at scriptures from two very different events.

But the first thing we see from John's perspective is the Second Coming, it is a universal event. He's coming in glory that everyone will see. No one will be able to miss this event. Notice that it says He is coming with the clouds. This has nothing to do with a weather event or a storm front that comes rolling in. It's not the clouds you or I would see. This is a glorious appearing in the clouds, not like anything we have ever seen before. John is warning people to pay attention because this isn't something you want to miss. He is drawing attention to this event. Jesus Christ is the only one who died and rose from the dead as our Lord and Savior and yet He is the one all the world mocks and makes fun of. No other religion tolerates that kind of abuse of who they worship, except with Jesus people think it's okay.

We will never see glory as we will when we see Jesus coming. No matter how great our church service or worship service will ever get close. We fail to think of Jesus that way, we think of Him as the shepherd on the hill with the lamb, the calm and happy version. We don't see Him as He is right now, sitting in His glory. Peter, James and John got a brief opportunity when they got to see Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah but even that pales in comparison to what Jesus will look like when He returns.

In Daniel 7:13 ~ "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence." (NIV).

He spoke of this 1000's of years before the mention of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 24:29-30 ~ "Immediately after the distress of those days "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give off its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken." At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory." (NIV). 

Mark 13:26 ~ "At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory." (NIV). 

Luke 21:27 ~ "At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." (NIV). 

1 Thessalonians 4:17 ~ "After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." (NIV).

Those are the events that are speaking of the Second Coming and the Rapture of the Church.  Wherever Jesus is, there is glory! The glory of Jesus when He returns will far surpass anything that Speilberg or Lucas have done for Hollywood. It will pale by all their efforts.

It states that Jesus is coming back with clouds. This is where some debate among scholars exists. They all believe in His glory, in the Second Coming the church is already present with Christ in Heaven when He returns. The church appears in Revelation 19:11 ~ " I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter" He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." (NIV). 

"The armies of Heaven" is a reference to the church. Fine linen is reserved for the bride of Christ, the church. Whereas the Tribulation Saints are given white robes to wear. The church wears fine, white linen. This is our wedding gown. We are riding a horse, in a wedding gown, probably with a helmet on, who follow Jesus on his own horse. There are some people today who won't believe this will happen until they see it. Trust me, you won't want to wait until You do. Time will be up by then if you see this sight and you haven't made a choice yet.

He is also coming in power, in strength and every eye will see Him. This is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and it is not the rapture of the church.

Matthew 24:30 ~ "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory." (NIV). 

Not those who are looking for Him. Not a select few that wait for Him. But every human being on earth will see Him coming. Nothing is impossible for God. He stands outside the laws of nature and physics and how He will bring this about, we know it isn't impossible when He makes is happen. He could make it happen in visions, dreams, in the atmosphere right in front of our face if He wanted, He could project Himself to every single person. He will be coming from the east to the west and stop on the Mount of Olives that will split in two. EVERY EYE will see him.

The Second Coming is a Coming, a returning and the Rapture is an appearance, atmospherically. The One is, to take away his church, the Other is to take back the earth.

Regarding the Countdown to the Second Coming, Matthew 24:21-27 ~ "For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect - of that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." (NIV). 

He promises when He comes back, people WILL know it. The Second Coming brings judgment and the establishment of righteousness, and the 1000 year presidency of Jesus Christ. The Rapture takes us into joy and excitement and wedding and a reception in heaven. These two events are at least 7 years apart from one another. and we will take a closer look at the rapture and the nation of Israel in tomorrow's study.

Judgment is Coming and When Jesus Comes Back, You Don't Want to Be Here!

If you are under 40 years of age, there is information you need to know, key things in your culture's history, because if you don't - you're bound to repeat it. Most of this younger generation is missing out on most of American History because it is being stripped down and removed or simply watered down. This is becoming an illiterate generation, and they are simply okay with not knowing it. They simply don't care because it is not relevant to them.

This is the same logic being applied to the Bible as well. The Holy Spirit gives wisdom and insight to understand the Bible. It's the very reason when two people pick up the Bible, one gets it, and the other doesn't. The difference is the illumination work of the Holy Spirit. You can ask God to give you the understanding to know what you're reading and He will give it to you.

The events after the Tribulation are the division from what is true and false.

This is the perfect description of Jesus, once again preparing Himself to visit the earth, but not like the first time as a gentle redeemer and Savior. Not this time!

Luke 4:18-21 ~ "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

The Scripture Jesus was referring to was Isaiah 61:2 but he stopped at the comma and didn't finish the remainder of the verse. Why? First of all He was proclaiming that the first part of this Scripture was about Him! He stops at the comma. The Second Coming of Jesus is Part 2 of the Bible study He began 2000 years ago. So what does part 2 say? The comma that has been holding back the fulfillment of the remainder of the prophecy?

Isaiah 61:2b-3 ~ "and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn: to grant to those who mourn in Zion - to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified."

The Second Coming deals with Israel.

Revelation 14:14 ~ "Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand."

This is none other than Jesus Christ. The following Scriptures answer this:

Matthew 24:30 ~ "Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

Psalm 104:3 ~ "He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind."

This speaks of His dwelling, His glory not clouds on a stormy day.

2 Samuel 22:11 ~ "He rode the cherub and flew: he was seen on the wings of the wind."

Acts 1:9-11 ~ "And when he said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

These events signify the end of the age. The end of the world as man knows it. Be encouraged, and if the rapture happens tomorrow, you Tribulation Saints be encouraged. Why? Because the Bible says that the Lord knows those who are His.

What you need to know about the parable we are going to refer to is that there is a field. There is an owner of the field. He sows seeds in the field. There is an enemy who came and sowed mock seeds or fake seeds in stealth. He did it against the wishes of the owner of the field. Tares, are identical to wheat and look exactly like them. You can't tell them apart.

Matthew 13:24-30 ~ "He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men where sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares (weeds) among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and born grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and asked him, "Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?" He said to them, "An enemy has done this." So the servants said to him, "Then do you want us to go and gather them?" But he said, "No, lest in the gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat in the barn."

This means wherever there is the truth, there is the false.
Wherever there is the fit, there is the counterfeit.
Wherever there is a real believer, there is a false believer.
Where do you find them? In the church.

Matthew 13:31-32 ~ "He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."

You can't plant a mustard seed and have it grow into a tree. This is an abnormal growth that Jesus is referring to and He knew by using this, that it would get everyone's attention. This little thing, grew into a huge monster. This is not a good thing. Pastor's will often quote this Scripture as a means of referring to church growth or faith, but it is taken out of context, wrongly dividing the world of truth. The birds here are hiding themselves in its branches.

Matthew 13:33 ~ "He told them another parable, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measure of flour till it was all leavened."

Again this is not a good thing, it is bad news. Jews did not leaven their bread and in this case the woman hid it in the measures of flour which she would bake into bread.

In all these parables, things were hidden among the good. The tares, the birds and the leaven. Now let's see how Jesus explains them all.

Matthew 13:34-43 ~ "All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world." Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field. He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of this age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be a weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear."

This entire passage is a reference to Revelation 14:14-20.

Matthew 13:47-50 ~ "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be a weeping and gnashing of teeth."

This is referring to the coming judgment of the world. Jesus Christ is coming back with authority as Judge.

John 5:26-27 ~ "For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man."

Joel 3:12-13 ~ "Let the nations stir themselves up and come up the the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. 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."

Revelation 1:16 ~ "In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength."

Revelation 19:21 ~ 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."

This speaks of the Second Coming of Jesus , the very same children that said, "Bring the little children unto Me." When Jesus comes back again, He is coming back in Holy Judgment upon the world.

Let Us Put the Blame of Evil Things Happening in The World Where It Belongs!

Did you know that the Book of Revelation references all the books of the Bible over any other book in the Bible? You will never understand the Book of Revelation without having knowledge of the Old Testament. When Christians tell you that they don't understand the Book of Revelation, they are announcing to you that they have never read the Old Testament or have an understanding of what they have read in regards to studying the Old Testament. What is concealed in the Old is revealed in the New!

Revelation 11:18 ~ "The nations were angry and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great - and for destroying those who destroy the earth."

This is a portion of Psalm 2 which is fulfilled by the time we get to Revelation 11:18 and was written over 3000 years ago.

Psalm 2:1-3 ~ "Why do the nations conspire and the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters." 

This part of the prophecy has already been fulfilled when they crucified and mocked Jesus, and continues even to this day against Christians and those that speak the truth found in God's Word.

Psalm 2:4-9 ~ "The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath saying, "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill." I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery."  

This portion of prophecy is coming and will be fulfilled during the Tribulation period when the wrath of God is unleashed upon a Christ-rejecting world and when Jesus returns to earth in the Second Coming to establish His kingdom once and for all.

We have just finished studying from Revelation 10:1 to Revelation 11:14 what is known as a parenthetical pause in the chronological events in the story to provide some much need information to the reader of the book and from Revelation 11:15-19 we continue in the events of the Tribulation Period with John again.

Revelation 11:15-19 ~ "The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven which said: "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever." And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great - and for destroying those who destroy the earth." Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of the covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm"

This portion of scripture introduces us to the coming kingdom of Christ. We are living in the time of the church age believers right now.

Acts 1:9-11 ~ "After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seem him go into heaven."

They watched Jesus ascend into the glory of heaven and we told to go forth and preach the Word of the gospel into the whole world. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came and the church was born. Jesus said that He would be coming back and coming again. We wait for Jesus to return just as the Bible predicts because if He doesn't, He wasn't the Messiah and the faith we have in Him is nothing. But we know that Jesus has fulfilled all the Bible prophecy's up to this point regarding His birth, His death and His resurrection. Sandwiched between His first coming, that is His birth as a baby in Bethlehem to His Second Coming in Revelation 19 as King and Redeemer coming with the saints and the church with Him to earth. In between this time is the Church Age, that is what you and I are a part of and at some point in that time frame, that age will end, and from the day of Pentecost to the Rapture, the church will conclude.

There will be no church in the Tribulation period. There will be the Tribulation saints or the believers who are born again during that Tribulation period. If you are a Christian right now, you will not experience the events we have been studying about that will happen in the Tribulation period. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior even while reading this post, God has promised to deliver you from the wrath that has yet to come. The words "wrath to come" does not mean hell. The "wrath to come" is the Tribulation period, when God pours out His judgment and vengeance upon the earth. Today you want to make sure you are a Christian and that you know God personally! Make sure your relationship with God is not a religious position where you think just because you attend church on Sunday and that is it for the rest of the week. You might be able to say that you know God, but can you say with boldness that God knows You?

We are going to look at three major points of why we need to know Jesus today. When Christ comes, the Lord will reign on earth. God will reign on earth.

Revelation 11:15 ~ "The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven which said: "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever."

Man's attempt to reign as president, as ruler, as king, is coming to an end. Yes, God has established earthly governments in fact in Romans 13, it states the governments in power have been established by God. That is true, whether you believe in that government or not. As Christians, we get a citizenship change or a passport change, as Paul taught in Philippians that our citizenship is now in heaven.

When we tell the world that the end is near, they will not believe that. Because it implies the end of man and the beginning of Christ in the world. The Bible makes it clear. We are running low on angels now. We are down to the seventh angel and he is the last one. There were seven of them, and this is the last one to blow his trumpet. From Revelation 12 to 19, we will cover a brief period of time, in those long section of Scriptures. The attempt of man to reign is nearly over.

Genesis 6:3 ~ "Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."

That word was given to Noah and his generation and when Noah proclaimed those words it was exactly 120 years until the flood came. You might not believe the flood happened, but God and history says it has happened. Archaeology says it happened. A great flood happened and turned our world upside down. The word strive or contend in Hebrew means to sail a straight course. God will not always sail a straight course into man's heart. He will not always be speaking to you directly and trying to convince you to come to know Him.

Right now Jesus is enthroned in heaven and He supervises all that is going on in the earth. However there are things going on in the earth that He does not approve of. The time for judgment has not yet come. All of the evil that we see and experience and look at, think of all the horrible events taking place in the world today, we need to put blame where blame is due. That blame is due primarily on man's neck.

James 4:1 ~ "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight."

It all begins in the heart. How is it that someone would pepetrate evil against someone else? It comes from the heart. The Bible also tells us that Satan is the god of this age. Little "g". He is not God. He is the upsurper of authority of this age. You want to know why Satan has so much destructive power in the world? It's because man keeps leaving the door open. There are people wondering why their marriages are falling apart and when they back up and realize that they were flirting with someone else who wasn't their husband or wife all this time and now they can see why their marriage is falling apart. There are those who are wondering why their kids are rebelling within their family and they look back and say, "Well we didn't want to ram God down their throats, we wanted them to make their own choices." So they grew up not knowing God and haven't learned anything from the Bible on how to act. When a man leaves his home or family unattended, it goes to mischief. This earth has gone to mischief.

If there is an earthquake today or someone gets murdered today, we can't blame God, this is a world where the evil thereof needs to be directed toward Satan. Jesus says I have come to give you life, and that more abundantly. But the thief, (not a thief but "THE" thief) has come to rob, kill and destroy. Which refers to Satan. Satan loves when you are having a bad day. We know man's reign is about to end and the Lord's reign is about to come upon the earth.

Notice that the camera angle has changed and we are seeing through John's eyes what is happening in heaven. This is what He hears.

Revelation 11:15 ~ "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever."

Some versions of the Bible have dropped the "s" on the word 'kingdoms' and it simply says kingdom. That is an unfortunate translation. If you go back to the Old King James Version, it is as how I have written this portion of Scripture of the Bible. There are a lot of kingdoms in this world. Notice how they will all become the kingdom, dropping the "s". When Jesus comes in His Second Coming, He is going to establish His rule. But some things have to happen first before He returns.

The first was laughable when people read it until it came to pass on May 14, 1948 when Israel became a nation in one day. Now people have zipped their lips. The Bible said before Jesus came back, Israel would have to become a nation again. That happened on May 14, 1948. Not only that the Bible said that God would call all His people back home that had been scattered across the world and bring them back to Israel in unbelief. Not believing in God. When you look at the nation of Israel is is predominately secular and an unbelief in God.

If you keep on going, there will be an unification of Europe. That the European Empire would be resurrected and that is happening today. It is called the E.U. or the U.S.E. the United States of Europe. All these things are coming together. If that is not enough and there are more than 300 scriptures that have already been fulfilled in the most amazing detail that need to take place before the Second Coming of Christ, and in Revelation 13, there will come a time in technology that man will issue a decree to those belonging to the One World Government, of a One World Religion, of a One World Church (which is not really a church at all), will have to pledge alliegance to a European ruler and to a global church and receive a number on their right hand or forehead.

If anyone has ever been to Buckingham Palace in England, there are massive pillars that are out in front of the palace, one for example will be labeled New Zealand, one will be labeled Australia, or India and all of these pillar will label a kingdom, where the crown of England presided over, so one crown sat over the kingdoms where it had authority, so on a very human small scale, think of that and you will be able to better understand that portion of Scripture. Under the crown of Christ, remember He is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, His kingdom will swallow up all the other kingdoms. A singular kingdom will consume plural kingdoms. Human kingdoms even though they have been presided over by God, the human kingdoms will be swallowed up by Christ. 

The Second Coming of Christ

What would you do if Jesus Christ was returning today at 3pm. Something tells me that we'd all be looking our best at 2:45pm. Then why aren't we? What are we waiting for?

Reading all these posts about Bible Prophecy will do no good if we aren't willing to change. We are missing the point.
Revelation 19: 11-17 " I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white hourse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one know but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the wine press with his fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." (NIV)

The second coming of Jesus Christ will be public and seen by all-unlike the surprise rapture of the church which takes place in the twinkling of an eye. There will be no question that you are witnessing the return of Jesus Christ.

This will be accompanied by sadness and weeping. There will be mourning in Jerusalem and throughout Israel that the Jews will realize that Jesus Christ really was their Messiah.

Zachariah 12:10, " And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a first born son."

Jesus Christ comes before judgment with the rapture of the church prior to the beginning of the Tribulation, while He comes with judgment when He returns to earth in His Second Coming. In the rapture He comes for His people, and in the Second Coming, He comes with His people.

Looking back at the description of Jesus Christ when we see Him at the Second Coming, his eyes are blazing, He is wearing many crowns, and His robe is dipped in blood.

His eyes blazing with fire, represent His power, His glory, His holiness and His wrath.

His many crowns signifies that He alone is ruler of all the universe.

The robe dipped in blood, signifies the price He paid when He died to save us all from our sins.

Yet Jesus is not coming alone. The scripture states that the armies of heaven are coming with Him. Who are these armies?

Jude 14: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones..." (NIV)

So who are the His holy ones? Colossians 3:4, "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."

It is speaking of those of us that believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. We are the ones that will be accompanying Him. We will all get to see the Holy Land from ring side seats, so if we never get to go during our human lifetime, we will get the ultimate Holy Land tour when we return with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

So what should we be doing in the meantime?

1. Watching for Him - We are to be aware that Jesus could come at any minute. We need to be aware of the signs of the times.

2. Being Ready to Go - We need to make sure that if Jesus came back at any minute, would we be embarrassed or ashamed at where He would find us or what we are doing? If the answer to that is yes, then don't do it.

3. Be Anxiously Awaiting - Do not fear this coming of the Lord, but be excited, joyful and filled with hope. If you have any anxiety, fear or dread, perhaps something isn't right in your spiritual life.

If you aren't 100% guaranteed that your passport to Heaven has your name assigned to it, it's not too late, but you may not have a second change to make this decision. Are you ready to accept God? As a believer, are you ready to recommit your life to serving Him with the time we have left?

Christians. It's time to get right or get left. Ready? Pray this prayer!

Lord Jesus,

Come into my life!
I know that I am a sinner!
I thank You for dying on the cross for me and rising again from the dead.
Now fill me up with Your Spirit and write my name in Your Book of Life,
and help me follow You all the days of my life.
Thank you that my sins are forgiven and that I am now going to heaven.
In Jesus Name I pray! ~ AMEN!

If you just prayed that prayer, you are a new creation and a believer in Jesus Christ. This is the reason for His delaying of the rapture of the church. You will now be part of that ultimate family reunion and I can't wait to welcome you when I see you!

Join me tomorrow when we will look at what happens when Jesus begins His wrath here on Earth, you don't want to miss it!

Rapture...Fantasy or Reality?

In the second part of my blog posts on the end times Bible Prophecy I am continuing where I left off. If you missed yesterdays blog, I would suggest you start here and then come back.

Because I truly believe in the pre-tribulation theory, my studies are based around those Bible events that lead me to believe that our next major event in Bible history will be the rapture of the church.

What is that you may ask? It is being taken by force as a believe in Jesus Christ, to meet with Him and our loved ones that have gone before us that also are believers to be with Him forever. We will not have to physically die in our bodies.

This will be the ultimate family reunion with our loved ones who have died before us. No more sorrow and sadness and will experience joy in an instant.

In the twinkling of an eye is how quickly this will all take place. That is faster than we can blink. It is actually 1 /1000th of a second. Your mind can't even comprehend just how fast that is. One second your here and the next you are reunited with family and God.

Will we be the generation of believers to see this happen? No one really knows, however quite some time ago believers thought it would have happened already based on world events that were occurring at that time. So why didn't it?

Have you sat in church recently and seen anyone come to God? That is the very reason it hasn't happened yet. God is waiting for that one person to believe and then we are outta here.

2 Peter 3:9 " The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but for everyone to come to repentance."

So where does the Bible say all this rapture stuff will happen?
2 Peter 3:10 "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare." 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the coice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead is Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to met the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." John 14:2 "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." Matthew 24:40-42, "Two me will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on which day our Lord will come." 1 John 3:2 "But we share know that when He appears we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is." 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, "Listen, I tell you a mystery; We will all not sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."

Can you imagine just how many current Christian believers are living on the Earth currently among a population of 7 billion? Can you explain how much that would impact the World to have all those people gone from all over the world in an instant?

Can you see how it would set the stage then for the anti-christ to rise up? This can't happen until the church is removed from the world.

Think about how the economies and the businesses would be impacted during that rapture of the believers. This is the perfect time for a charismatic person who is wise in economic and military strategies to come to power and fix everything.

We won't have to worry about a one world currency even though they have been talking about it for years, it will be more likely to see a one world government with a cashless society thanks to where technology has us all headed in the future.

This can not occur until the existing restraining force is removed. What is that? The church through the rapture will provide no more resistance on the Earth.

Christians for the most part are the ones that speak up for what is right and true in the world today. We are the ones helping when natural disasters strike, when the homeless and hurting need help and to restore and hold together families and marriages.

Once that is gone from the face of the Earth, evil can pretty much do what it wants with no one to speak out against what is right or wrong anymore.

So at this time let your thoughts be on heaven and eternity with God.

Here are some of the effects of the Rapture.

1. No death! The generation that witnesses this event will not die a physical death.

2. It will happen in a instant. 1 Corinthians 15:51

3. Transformation - New Bodies, no more aging, health issues or disabilities.

4. Rescue Operation - God's Special Ops Team will come to remove us all to avoid the tribulation period. 1 Thessalonians 1:10, "to wait for his Son from heaven, who he raised from the dead ~ Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." This is where I come to believe in pre-tribulation.

So what is the difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming? Aren't they the same? No. Here are the differences.

Rapture: will be a stealth event, we will meet Jesus in the air, He comes for His church and before judgement.

Second Coming: It will be a public event, Jesus comes to Earth, with His church, and with Judgement.

So what should we as Christians do? Walk with God. Like Enoch who was the proto-type who experienced a solo rapture.

Genesis 5:24, "Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." He did not die. He took a walk with God and went home with Him.

That is how we need to live our lives, walking with God, consistently and constantly!

Are you sure you'd be ready when God returns or will you be left? Do you have that ultimate certainty behind any reasonable doubt? If not, let's fix that now!

We need to repent or turn away, stop doing sin filled things and stop living in both worlds even as Christians. It's time to get right or get left. Ready? Pray this prayer!

Lord Jesus,

Come into my life!
I know that I am a sinner!
I thank You for dying on the cross for me and rising again from the dead.
Now fill me up with Your Spirit and write my name in Your Book of Life,
and help me follow You all the days of my life.
Thank you that my sins are forgiven and that I am now going to heaven.
In Jesus Name I pray! ~ AMEN!

If you just prayed that prayer, you are a new creation and a believer in Jesus Christ. This is the reason for His delaying of the rapture of the church. You will now be part of that ultimate family reunion and I can't wait to welcome you when I see you!

Look for what happens when the church is gone and see just why you want to make sure you aren't here for what is coming next tomorrow!