What we’re studying this morning is the day every believer should be longing for. This is the day where our Lord and Savior fulfills the promise given to His disciples by the angels who were with them when, before their very eyes, our Lord ascended to the Father.

ACT 1:11 "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 seen him go into heaven."

From that day forward every true believer in Christ Jesus has longed for the day when our Savior would return to this earth. As we’ve noted early on in this study, the second return of Jesus Christ is not the same thing as the rapture of the body of Christ, where He secretly takes His church out of this world.

It will be shortly after the rapture when the count down of the last seven years of Daniel’s prophecy begins to take place; the time we know as the Great Tribulation, or the time of Jacob’s trouble, which also alludes to the persecution of Israel and it’s attempted destruction by the forces of the anti-christ.

We’ve seen over the last few weeks how our Lord will bring judgment on the earth in the form of 21 judgments in three sets of seven: the seven seal judgments, the seven trumpet judgments and the seven bowls of wrath judgments.

It is the last judgment which now opens the door for Christ’s physical second coming as He has prepared the way for His return. It is all but finished.

REV 16:17 "The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, "It is done!"

This last judgment prepares the way for Jesus to come as King and conqueror, not to be greeted with open arms from the inhabitants of the earth, but to be greeted by those who desire to make war with Him. Oh, the hardness of man’s heart.

His first coming was almost a non-event, as far as this world was concerned. Just another baby boy born to a poor Jewish couple. But that birth did not escape Satan’s notice as he conspired to have Jesus put to death by Herod. And now, at the second coming, Satan is still trying to conspire to accomplish what he failed to do the first time.

You talk about sin blinding the hearts of people. Consider the blindness of Satan’s heart as he actually tries to go to war with the Creator of the universe who called everything into existence by the word of His power.

That’s blindness and visions of grandeur reserved only for those who have lost their minds. And, as Jesus shows the last signs in the heavens, just before His second coming, the armies prepare for battle. We saw this last week as we ended with the last judgment which is found in Revelation 16.

REV 16:16 "Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, "It is done!"
18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake."

Our Lord’s plan to personally intervene in the lives of people on earth is now coming to a close. And this is what the prophet Ezekial prophesied of in those days when the anti-christ comes against God, as he comes against God’s chosen Israel.

EZE 38:16 "You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.
17 "'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Are you not the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel? At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them.
18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD.
19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel."

This is the event Jesus spoke of to His disciples as He explained the last days and the judgment which would come upon those who would confront Israel.

LUK 21:22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written.
23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.
24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25 "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.
26 Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Everything in God’s redemptive plan for man will find its culmination in this event of Christ’s second coming to this earth. And just as sure as Jesus came the first time in fulfillment of prophecy this second event will be just as sure.

The armies of earth can only dream of trying to fight against their Creator, but it will be futile at best as He comes to reestablish His rightful place as King of kings and Lord of lords in this world.

EZE 39:7 "'I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the LORD am the Holy One in Israel.
8 It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign LORD. This is the day I have spoken of."

But when our Lord comes back He’s not coming back alone, because you and I in Christ will be coming back with Him.

REV 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.
12 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 he himself.
13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.....
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."

Again, let me repeat the question from those who doubt the truthfulness of Christ’s word: "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Well gang, here it is. Just as He promised. As our Lord returns to this planet He brings us with Him.

Now, it’s not as though He needs us to help destroy His enemies. We are referred to as the armies of heaven who are following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

But as we see, it is not His armies who will be accomplishing the actual victory, because "out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations...."

This sharp sword is the word of the Lord which called everything into existence and which will come against those who come against Him in that day. He won’t need armies to help in that battle, He simply speaks and they are destroyed. And yet, we are given the privilege to be there for the judgment and the wrath which is poured out in those days.

We are identified as belonging to Him and coming back with Him to witness His awesome power and strength and justice. This world has been given grace and mercy and compassion and love by our Lord for thousands of years as He has pleaded with mankind to turn from their wicked ways and embrace Him as Lord and Savior.

But, we’ve always known that our Lord’s long-suffering has an end. There must be a final reckoning. As our Lord told Noah, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever...". In those days the judgment finally came on sinful, rebellious men and so too, it will come on sinful men in the last days. The prophet Jeremiah tells us of this.

JER 25:30 "Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them: "'The LORD will roar from on high; he will thunder from his holy dwelling and roar mightily against his land. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, shout against all who live on the earth.
31 The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth, for the LORD will bring charges against the nations; he will bring judgment on all mankind and put the wicked to the sword,'" declares the LORD.
32 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth."
33 At that time those slain by the LORD will be everywhere - from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like refuse lying on the ground."

In those days to come, our Lord will return to this earth to judge and to set up His kingdom in a unique way in this world.

ZEC 14:3 "Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle.
4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.
7 It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime - a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light.
8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea (That is, the Dead Sea) and half to the western sea, (That is, the Mediterranean) in summer and in winter.
9 The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name."

This battle is not going to last very long. The same day the Lord returns is the same day He destroys His enemies and the same day He sets up His kingdom. But how will this effect the people in the earth, especially the anti-christ and the false prophet?

REV 19:17 "And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God,
18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great."
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army.
20 But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
21 The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh."

The prophet Ezekial also prophesied of this event as the Lord revealed to him that this day would be a day of great carnage and destruction.

EZE 39:17 "Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: 'Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.
18 You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls - all of them fattened animals from Bashan."

The birds of the earth and all the wild animals will be needed to clean up the carnage in those days as they eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of princes. This is a very graphic picture of God’s solution to the death and destruction which will take place in those days.

But the question is, who will survive in those days? Who will be left upon the earth to carry on? This is the amazing thing about God’s judgment in those days. And like the days of Noah we will see that there will be relatively few people left.

ISA 24:6 "Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left."

Also, in that day God will gather all of the elect from the earth and will bring them into His presence.

MAT 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.
31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."

The only ones left will be those who trusted Christ by not accepting the mark of the beast and turning to the Lord Jesus alone as the only way of salvation, and this will include a remnant in Israel who will see their Savior coming back for them as He returns to the city of their fathers.

EZE 39:21 "I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them.
22 From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God.
28 ..... for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind.
29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD."

The reason Israel was called out in the first place, way back in the book of Exodus, when Moses led them out of Egypt, was to be a people for God’s own possession where they would be His people and He would be their God. They were to demonstrate the goodness of God and the glory of the Lord in this earth as they loved Him and were a light in a darkened world.

As a nation they failed and rebelled, but God had always promised that this nation would one day accomplish what He had always desired for them to do. And now, as He comes back He will put it in their hearts to be those people who are sold out for Him and humble themselves before their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

You see, they were to be the model for the world as they brought glory to God. And the world was to respond to the way in which the Lord was in Israel’s presence by responding in faith as well. But, when Israel failed God gave that responsibility to the Gentile world as Jesus came to accomplish our salvation.

But He never would give up on Israel as being that particular people who was to represent Him as a nation and this is what Paul brings out in his letter to the Romans.

ROM 10:21 "But concerning Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people." (Isaiah 65:2)
11:1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin."
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.
12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob."

On the day that the Lord returns to this earth there will be a remnant in Israel who will see Him and know that He is the One who was promised from ages past through the prophets.

ROM 9:27 "Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.
28 For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality." (Isaiah 10:22,23)
29 It is just as Isaiah said previously: "Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah."

But, the remnant will know that Jesus Christ is the One and they will embrace Him as He comes back, not only as King but also as Savior.

ZEC 13:1 "On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity."

And so, the Lord has returned with His army, which includes you and me in Christ; we who had been raptured some seven years before this final event. The earth has been judged. The remnant are saved, and the Lord has set Himself up in Jerusalem as King and conqueror.

All of the other inhabitants of the earth have been put to death, not unlike all of the inhabitants of the earth during Noah’s day being put to death, with the exception of the remnant, eight in all who were saved in the ark. In the case of this judgment when Christ returns the second time, the ark which saves is Christ Himself. He is the One in whom we find refuge and safety.

But, we mentioned earlier that the fate of the anti-christ and the false prophet is that they will be thrown into the burning lake of fire according to Rev.19:20. Just a quick note about the burning lake of fire.

This is the final judgment for all who have rejected Christ. Remember, God warned the earth not to take the mark of the beast. And if anyone did, they would receive the just punishment which would be the place spoken of as the place with burning sulfur .

REV 14:9 "A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand,
10 he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
11 And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."

REV 20:10 "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

I bring this up to show you that this is the final judgment for everyone who has rejected Christ, but it is not the place where the rebellious who have died without Christ reside today. Those who have chosen their own path, which is the wide path and not the narrow, are not today burning in the lake of fire. Rather, they are in a place which is most uncomfortable known as hell or Hades, sometimes referred to as the Abyss..

It will be at the great white throne judgment where all in Hades will finally be delivered up to that place we are told is the lake of fire.

REV 20:12 "And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.
14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death."

Remember, the wages of sin is death. And this is what the Lord ultimately had in mind when He gave that promise to Adam and Eve. The first death is a separation from the body which also includes a separation from fellowship with God. But the second death is forever in the lake of fire. This is why we teach and preach the gospel. You see, it is a matter of life and death.

Next week we’re going to look at the thousand year reign of Christ in this earth. But there is one more thing to note about who will be left on the earth in the day in which Christ comes back the second time. Those who did not receive the mark of the beast will be here. Those of us who come back with Christ will be here, but also those who died as martyrs in the great tribulation will also be here as we’re told in Revelation 20.

REV 20:4 "I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection."

This will be the first time in all of history, aside from the time in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve sinned against God, that all of the inhabitants of the earth will be followers and lovers of Christ.

In other words, after the judgment of the earth when Christ comes back, the only ones who will be left alive will be true believers in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We might think, what a great way to start all over again. And it will be. But as we continue our study we will find that despite Jesus residing in the earth and despite a glorious reign of a thousand years, the hardness of man’s heart will once again rear its ugly head as the descendants of this holy remnant are born into this world.

Now, there is another aspect of this second coming of Christ which should not go unnoticed and that is that Satan himself will be bound for the next thousand years and will not be able to tempt or torment anyone.

REV 20:2 "He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time."

This is going to be a glorious time for true believers during this thousand year reign of Christ on earth. And we’ll look at the millennium next week.

But as we close, we should not forget that we have a job, a duty and a privilege given to us from our Lord and Savior before He comes again, and before He raptures us out of this world. That job is to faithfully represent Him in this world and be lights in a way where people see the light of God in our lives that they might be attracted to Jesus Christ.

May we seek the Lord and His strength in these last days and may we heed the words of our risen Lord in Matthew.

MAT 28:18 Then Jesus .... said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."