More About Jesus – He is Coming Again Part 2 The Final Victory
He is coming again!
We saw in the last lesson that the next time Jesus comes all the way to the earth it will be with such power that the mount of Olives will split into.
Zec 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
At this time the rapture has already happened, the judgment seat of Christ for Christians is over, the marriage supper of the Lamb, and also the tribulation. And it is time for Jesus to come back to Earth.
I This time He comes to rule
God does things decently and in order. Nothing is done by chance. Nothing is forced upon Him. His will is accomplished in His perfect timing. After the tribulation it will be time for Him to finally come to earth and put an end to sin running rampant upon the earth.
Lost people will often say something like this. I can’t believe in a God who allows bad to happen. If there is a good God, then he should not allow…. And fill in the blank. You name it and they will accuse God of evil for not stopping it.
The truth is that He is a good God. Sin is why bad things happen. And one day He is coming to rule and during His rule Jesus is not going to allow sin to run rampant. Jesus will rule with a rod of iron.
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Psa 2:6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
Psa 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Psa 2:8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Psa 2:9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
His earthly reign will be one of total complete authority. We so often think of Jesus as the Lamb. The one who opened not His mouth in His own defense. We often think of His compassion as He looked over the crowd, or healed a leaper, or raise the dead son of the widow woman. We often think of His forgiveness as He dealt with the woman caught in adultery or as He prayed from the cross Father forgive them for they know not what they do.
But we should never forget that Jesus has also had all things put under His feet. That He has all authority and all power. We would do well to remember that Jesus may be longsuffering but He is not forever suffering. The time will come when the winepress of God’s judgment is full. And at that time Jesus is coming back as the lion from the tribe of Judah. He is coming back in judgment and in power.
II He comes in power
Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Fire is often used in the Bible to symbolize judgment. And notice the symbolic language. It says His eyes were as a flame of fire. So they are not actually fire. His eyes are just set on judgment. They are hard. People sometimes use the phrase, his eyes were like lasers, or his eyes pierced right thru me. When Jesus comes back His eyes are going to be as a flame of fire. There will be no mercy found in those eyes on that day.
Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
He will come with a reminder on His clothes of what sin did to Him. A reminder for all to see. Sin took Jesus to the cross. He died for our sin. He had none of His own. He shed His own blood to save man from sin. And if you read the book of Revelation you will see that over and over and over again He tried to get the people of earth to get saved. The blood on His garment will show to those that He is judging that He shed His blood for them, that they did not have to endure this judgment but they rejected His mercy and His love.
He would send two witnesses, and most would reject Him. He would send plagues and all kinds of judgments to get their attention and they would not listen. He had patience and keep waiting and working. Sin is a horrible thing and delayed judgment will now come.
Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
We get to come with and watch. But He does all the work. All Jesus has to do is speak and the war is over.
Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS is a way of stating that He is over all. There is no king and no lord over Him. He has absolute power and authority. And He will literally rule on the earth for 1,000 years.
III The thousand year reign
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Christ will reign for 1,000 years and the saved will rule with Him. It is important to know that this is not yet eternity. That comes after the final judgment. Also called the second death.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
a. This will be a thousand years of peace. Even in the animal kingdom.
Isa 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
Satan will be bound for the 1,000 years.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
His influence will not be felt upon the earth till the thousand years are fulfilled. What happens then? If you miss this, you will not understand the thousand year reign.
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
b. Satan gets set loose, and look at what he does.
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Satan gathers up people to battle against Jesus. Now stop and engage your brain for a moment.
Listening to Satan is sin. Right?
Following Satan is sin. Right?
Fighting against Jesus is sin. Right?
Of course. But those of us who went to heaven in the rapture can no longer sin. Our corruption has put on incorruption. So who is rebelling?
The answer to that will change your view of the 1,000 reign.
The people who are rebelling come from those that survive the tribulation and the coming of Jesus. Obviously when Jesus comes back He does not take everyone out in judgment. There will be people who survive that are still in their natural bodies.
They will continue to have children, and those children will be born sinners just like you were. They will have to accept salvation just like you did.
So that means that someone is going to have to teach Sunday school for 1,000 years. Someone is going to have to run a bus route, preach, minister, witness, and keep order for 1,000 years.
c. That brings new meaning to the teaching of Jesus.
Mat_25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
There will be plenty of jobs during the 1,000 years. And what you get to do then depends upon how you serve Him now. At this point there are many who smugly say something like this. It doesn’t really matter, I will be happy just digging ditches. I don’t care.
I believe they will change their minds during the 1,000 years. As others get to do more to serve Jesus than they do. Just think about it. 1,000 years is a long time. It is much better to be doing something for Jesus than just sitting on the sidelines.
IV The final battle
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
It really is not much of a battle. They march and God just rains down fire and that is the end of it.
What is shocking is that even with Jesus reigning on the earth for 1,000 years. Even with people being able to see Him and watch all His perfect judgments, a multitude will still reject Him.
Remember those people who blame God for letting bad things happen. Now during the 1,000 years God is not going to let bad things happen, and they will not like that either.
This shows the depth of the depravity of man. Even with Jesus ruling before them, people will reject Him. It shows how bad the human heart is without Jesus. People really do need the Lord.
V The Final Judgment
Before what we call eternity is ushered in two things remain.
a. Final judgment of Satan
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Praise God. Satan is thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone for ever and ever. Never again to bring hurt, crying, tears, and destruction.
b. Final judgment of the lost in what is called the the Great White throne judgment
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
VI Eternity with Jesus
The 1,000 years is not Heaven because there are sinners on the earth during the 1,000 years. In Heaven there is no sin. Nothing that defiles, no tears, and no pain. No more death. It is perfect.
Now is when God will remake the earth to erase everything that is sin stained. All will be made anew.
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Now that all the sinners are gone and the Earth made anew, the Heavenly city can come down.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Now we have what we call Heaven for all eternity. And it will be wonderful.
Someone once said that the Bible can sure mess up a person’s theology.
It is sure true when it comes to Heaven. Most believe that once we die we are in Heaven forevermore.
The Bible actually teaches that we go to Heaven for the judgment seat of Christ and then come back to this sin stained Earth to reign with Him for 1,000 years.
After the final rebellion and the Great White throne judgment, then we get Heaven permanently. A new Earth with the Heavenly Jerusalem. Then we get a perfect eternity.