The Second Coming - 11
Triumphant Saviour
Let’s take a quick overview of Revelation chapters 6 to 19. The Apostle John talks about war, famine, one quarter of the world being killed, one third of the earth and the sea destroyed, fresh water being polluted, the release of hell’s demons to overrun the earth and untold horrors. Such is the Great Tribulation. It marks Satan’s final attempt to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. He knows his time is short.
On that day ‘the Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God’ (Isaiah 52 verse 10). In the same place where Jesus was rejected and vilified, He will be worshipped and adored. This same Jesus, who was set at nought, scorned and despised, will finally be esteemed and owned, welcomed and received in the same place, namely on the earth, where He was spat upon and humiliated. The scripture says, “And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives” (Zechariah 14 verse 4).
On that day ‘the law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem’ (Isaiah 2 verse 3). In the very place where Jesus has been systematically denied and forgotten, blasphemed and opposed – here on this earth – He shall reign, without a rival, supreme over all. Where He was hated, He shall be vindicated. Where He was ignored, He shall be adored. He will return from an open heaven in majesty, riding forth victoriously to reign. “The government shall be upon His shoulders and of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end. The zeal of the Lord will accomplish this”. (Isaiah 9 verses 6 and 7)
Are you eager for His return? What kind of bride, as her wedding day approaches, would be careless about her looks, her dress, and her attitude of heart towards her bridegroom? Would she be complacent and unprepared? Revelation 19 verse 7 says, “Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.” One purpose of Second Coming preaching is not calculation (when will He return?) but consecration. As the old chorus said “I’m getting ready in the latter rain, ready for Jesus – He’s coming back again. I have my wedding garment, praise His name! I am getting ready in the latter rain.”
The Bible also tells us what happens next after the King’s return. We read in Revelation 20 verses 1 to 3, “And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, which is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations any more until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.” In just seven verses the millennium (the thousand year reign of Christ) is mentioned no fewer than six times. There can be no ideal world while Satan is on the loose, so he is bound in the Abyss or bottomless pit. Satan’s imprisonment and total absence from the earth changes the conditions from darkness to light. It’s as if King Jesus ties up ‘the strong man’, then He can rob his house. The prince of this world is driven out by the Spirit of God.
O the joy when the once crucified Man of Sorrows, now living in the power of an endless life, hears the loving cry of His devoted subjects “We will have this Man to reign over us.” What celebration when God’s direct rule is established in the millennium. Scorpions will lose their sting. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths. “They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11 verse 9). Jerusalem will be the Kingdom centre; life span will increase again, back to Methuselah.
Here’s the plain truth. If you’re born twice, you die once. If you’re born once, you die twice. Let me explain. If you’re born twice (your natural birth when you entered the world and your spiritual birth when Jesus came into your heart and you were born again) you will die once, when this life ends. But if you’re born once, and have never been born again, you will die twice. First when this life ends and then again at what the Bible calls ‘the second death.’
Let me ask you directly. Do you belong to Jesus? Is He your Lord and Master? Give Him all the keys to every room in your heart today.