A Daily Walk

Guest (Male): Pastor John Randall looks forward to the second coming of Jesus, next.

John Randall: He came the first time. It's fulfilled. Seven out of the eight major events in his life have already happened. There's just one remaining as it relates to this earth, and that's the second coming. Oh, there's the rapture, but then there's the second coming of Christ.

It's the last event, and one day it's going to happen. As I look at the kingdoms of this world, and I look at the political structure, and the unraveling and the crumbling of it all, it makes me long for that day when the government is on his shoulders, when he will rule and reign and be in absolute control. There is so much to live for. Our future is as bright today as the promises of God.

Guest (Male): Well, at Christmas each year, we remember Jesus coming to this earth to die for our sins. But today on A Daily Walk, we're going to talk about the second coming of Jesus. It will look much different than his first. You see, when he comes again, he will judge and make war. Let's head over to Revelation chapter 19, verse 12, as Pastor John Randall offers this picture of what's to come.

John Randall: His eyes were like a flame of fire. The gaze of the Lord, the countenance of the King in his return, is penetrating. It's powerful, seeing clearly into the souls of men and of women. Speaking of the fire in his eyes, it's a fire of judgment at this point.

Why are his eyes like flames of fire? I like what Charles Spurgeon said. He said first to discern the secrets of all hearts. There are no secrets that Christ does not see. There is no lewd thought, there is no unbelieving skepticism that Christ doesn't read. There's no hypocrisy, no formalism, no deceit that he does not scan as easily as a man reads a page in a book. His eyes are like a flame of fire to read us through and through, to know us, to know our inmost soul.

The Bible says that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to him. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 4, concerning the gaze of God, that all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. Today, the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout this parking lot. He sees you. He knows your heart. There's nothing hidden from him.

You might be able to hide it from your parents or from your wife or from your husband or from your coworkers or from people who love you, but God sees when no one else sees. He sees into the deepest part of who we are. He knows everything about you, everything that you're involved in, everything that you're pursuing at this moment. I want to tell you that even though he knows all of those things, he loves you perfectly, completely. He wants to forgive you and to restore you if you'll turn to him.

There will come a point when the Spirit of God will not always strive with man. Although his eyes are full of compassion and mercy and grace, when he comes a second time, they'll be full of judgment to mankind who refuses to believe. John also describes that he had several crowns on his head. It says on his head were many crowns. We'll get to his names in a moment.

The last time that the earth saw Jesus, he wore a crown of thorns. But the crown referred to here is a ruler's crown. The fact that it says that there are many indicates the collecting of all the other rulers' crowns. There are no more crowns when he comes back. He is the sovereign ruler, the undeniable king, signifying with all of the crowns that he rules.

John also describes his clothing. If you look down at verse 13, it says he was clothed with a robe that was dipped in blood. You may recall when Jesus came the first time that his robe was drenched in his own blood from the scourging of the cat-of-nine-tails across his back and from the beatings that he endured. They took that robe and they divided his garments, casting lots, gambling for the robe of the savior, of the redeemer. But when he comes a second time, the robe that he wears that is dipped in blood is not his. It's his enemies'.

Again, it is a startling picture to grasp this morning, but it's not his blood. The Bible predicted this in Isaiah chapter 63 prophetically. It says, "Who is this who comes from Edom with dyed garments from Bozrah? This one who is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Why is your apparel red and your garments like the one who treads the winepress?" The answer to that is because he treads on his enemies and his robe is dipped in blood.

John now describes for us as we look back at his name. We already mentioned one: faithful and true. But now in verse 13, it says that his name is called the Word of God. In verse 12, it says he has a name written that no one knows except himself. Then in verse 13, it says he has a name which is the Word of God. Verse 14, the armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed him on horses.

There are many titles given to Jesus throughout the Bible, and again, there are four listed here. Faithful and true, a name verse 12 that only he knows. That's an interesting phrase, a name that only he knows, and then it tells us the names. What's that supposed to mean? I think it implies there are certain things about Jesus that only heaven will reveal. We couldn't grasp it here and now. There are certain things that we will still be learning when we get there about Jesus, how magnificent he is, how powerful he is.

In his glory we're going to see it, and we're going to understand. There's something about him that you don't even know yet. What I already know is enough to bless me, to cause me to worship him, to desire to be with him forever. But there are certain things about his character and his nature that only heaven will reveal. He has a name that nobody knows except himself.

But here are some names that you can know: faithful and true. He's also called the Word of God. We see this name given to him in John's Gospel in the first chapter when it says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." He's the Word. He's the thinker behind the thought. Logos is the word. It means he's the creator behind the creation, the first cause. It's Jesus. He's the Word of God.

Also, if you look at verse 16, here's one other title given to him. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. This title of sovereignty and victory is who we worship. He is faithful and true. He is the Word of God. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He's the almighty God. I wonder if you know him. I wonder if you know him by name. It's one thing to know somebody's name. It's another thing to know somebody.

You might know about Jesus, but you might not know him. I'd love to introduce him to you today. He is wonderful. He is merciful. He is loving. He is gracious. He is kind. The Bible says, "Oh taste and see that the Lord is good." That's what we're asking today for you to taste and see this one who is coming again, and you'll find that he is good.

John also tells us here something powerful. If you look at verse 14, he tells us who is going to accompany him when he comes back. It says, "And the armies in heaven were clothed in fine linen, white and clean, and they followed him on white horses." When our Lord comes again to establish his kingdom and reign upon the earth, there will be an army accompanying him. They are called the armies in heaven, and they also are clothed with white linen, and they are riding on horses.

Who is this group? Who is this army that returns with the Lord, riding alongside of him, mounting up and coming back with him? It's the church. The church comes back with him. Some of you might be nervous already. You are fearful of horses. These are well-trained heavenly horses.

I was laughing as I was reading this. A thought crossed my mind. I remember years ago being in Guatemala with my parents where they were running a missionary ministry there. While we were there, we decided to ride horses. Maybe they were donkeys. I don't know. I think they were horses. They would take us up the hill to this volcano. My horse was good, but I'll never forget my father behind me. He had a wild horse.

As we were going up this hill, I remember looking back at my dad and his horse just had a mind of its own. It just darted off into the bushes. My dad's back there screaming for me to stop this horse. It was on its own. You will not be riding that horse. That horse is not going to heaven.

Don't ask me if animals go to heaven after service. I don't know. But there are horses. I know there are horses. We're riding back on them. They'll be trained. You'll be good. But the great news is we'll be coming back with him. Can you imagine coming through the clouds, coming through the sky? It's a bird, it's a plane. No, it's horses. They are coming back, and that's Jesus. It's going to be amazing that day when we come back with him. That's something to look forward to.

This is why in the beginning of Revelation, all the way back in chapter 5, verses 9 and 10, we saw the church rejoicing. It says, "You have redeemed us to God by your blood, and out of every tribe, tongue, and people and nation. You have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign with you on the earth." That's our hope. We're coming back to reign with him at the very end.

The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy chapter 2, in verse 11, "For if we died with him, we shall also live with him. If we endure with him, we shall also reign with him." That's the future. That's the hope. This is temporary. This is eternal. Then John describes this battle and the outcome of it.

The Bible tells us in Zechariah that when Jesus comes back, he's going to put his foot upon the Mount of Olives and it's going to split in two. There will be a great valley leading up to the East Gate. But then he's going to fight there in the Valley of Jezreel, the battle of Armageddon. By the way, from Nazareth, you can look out and you can see the Valley of Jezreel. I say that to you to suggest what it was like for Jesus growing up in Nazareth, and from that town, from that village, being able to look out and to see the Valley of Jezreel where one day a final battle would take place. It's an interesting thought.

It says here in verse 15 how the battle goes. As Jesus comes back, "out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations. And he himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He himself treads the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. And he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords."

It says there's a sharp sword that proceeds out of his mouth. It was back in Revelation chapter 1 when John was first given this glimpse of the resurrected, glorified Jesus Christ that he saw in a vision. In chapter 1, verse 16, the sharp sword proceeded from his mouth. It's a reference to the words that he speaks. Here it's a sword of judgment, the flaming sword dealing death to the enemies of the Lord. That the sword comes out of his mouth symbolizes the power that is in the words of the Lord.

The Bible says that life and death are in the tongue. But concerning the word of the Lord, it comes out like a sharp sword. In Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12, it says, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of the soul and the spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart."

When he comes back for this battle, it's not even a battle. He just speaks a word and it's over. Just one word spoken and it's done. It shouldn't come as any surprise to us because if you go back to the book of Genesis, the very beginning, he spoke a word. He said, "Let there be light," and instantly there was. He just spoke it. There are things about light that we don't even fully comprehend, the speed of light, etc. He just said it, and it was.

When he comes back in this second coming, he speaks, and the battle's over. Game over. That's it. End of story. He speaks the word. There's something powerful about the word of God. The word of God has the ability to cut right through all of the walls that I put up. It has the ability to cut through all the pride, all the excuses. It has the ability to get right to the thoughts, to the very heart of who I am and who you are.

Today, God's word has the ability to bring comfort, and it also has the ability to bring conviction of sin through the work of the Holy Spirit. God's word, are you listening? Jesus said, "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says." Is the word of God able to get through? Listen, you can shut your ears and shut your heart and close your eyes, but it doesn't change the fact that God's word remains. One day you'll be accountable for everything you've heard, for everything you've said, for everything you've seen and done. You're going to stand before God. You've heard the gospel. You're going to be accountable for that.

God's word is going forth like a sword. But the same word of God that can cut is the same word of God that can heal. At the close of this battle, what happens? Well, we see in verse 17, "Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, 'Come, gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.'"

This is rather startling. A feast of carnivorous birds. The angel cries out and he calls out to all the birds from every direction to come and feast on the enemies of God. You remember last week we talked about a feast called the marriage supper of the Lamb? You definitely want to attend that one. But this is a different feast altogether. This is a feast of carnivorous birds that come and they just live off of the carcasses of the dead. This is what happens at the end of this battle.

Then it says in verse 19, "And I saw," now notice this, "the beast," that's the Antichrist, "the kings of the earth," that's those who sided with him, "the armies, gathered together to make war against him and him who sat on a horse and against his army. Then the beast was captured, and the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh."

As this battle unfolds, Jesus comes. He speaks a word. The battle is over. He takes alive the Antichrist and the false prophet. The Antichrist leading the one-world political structure, takes him, the false messiah, the false Christ, Satan incarnate. He takes him and his false prophet, his PR man who's been drawing everybody to him, having everybody take his mark. He takes those two and throws them alive into the lake of fire where they will be for eternity.

This is, by the way, the first mention in scripture of this lake of fire, which is the final hell, the ultimate destination of Satan and his angels and the unredeemed. The prophet Isaiah described it as a place where the worm doesn't die, where the fire shall never be quenched. This description is echoed by the Lord Jesus in Mark chapter 9, verse 48. In Matthew 13, Jesus added that it will be a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Revelation chapter 14:11 says of those who suffer there, "the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever and they have no rest day or night."

This is very serious. All who sided with the devil, all who followed the Antichrist, all who were conditioned and went this way of the rest of the world, they rejected the love of God. They rejected the salvation of God. They could have even gotten saved during the tribulation period, but they refused. As a result, the judgment that follows is they end up in a place that Jesus died to keep them from.

To get to hell, you've got to get over the love of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God. You've got to run right through that and run to the gates of hell. You'll see there's exit signs all along the way throughout your life. God's been saying, "Exit here," and you refuse. "Exit here," you refuse. "Exit here, I can't leave that. Exit here, I'm too connected to this." You watch as people run through grace and mercy and forgiveness and love straight to the gates of hell that Jesus died to keep them from.

The question is this: are you saved? Have you accepted Christ as your savior? Are you this morning, and listen carefully and allow this question to hit your heart with all the power of the Holy Spirit available in this moment, if this was your last day on the earth, would you go to heaven or to hell?

Very sobering question. If your response is, "Well, I'm pretty sure, I hope," if that is your response, you're not ready for heaven. The Bible says, "These things we have written to you that you might know that you have eternal life." You can have absolute assurance today that you are on your way to heaven. If you respond to his first coming when he went to the cross and he died and he rose again, if you respond to his first coming by faith and receive him as your savior, you will be all about his second coming, returning with him. What you do with his first coming determines what will take place in the second coming for you.

The only way that you can know for sure that you're on your way to heaven is by receiving Jesus Christ, by responding to his grace. This is a picture of what is to come. He came the first time. It's fulfilled. Seven out of the eight major events in his life have already happened. There's just one remaining as it relates to this earth, and that's the second coming. Oh, there's the rapture, but then there's the second coming of Christ. It's the last event, and one day it's going to happen.

As I look at the kingdoms of this world and I look at the political structure and the unraveling and the crumbling of it all, it makes me long for that day when the government is on his shoulders, when he will rule and reign and be in absolute control. There is so much to live for. Our future is as bright today as the promises of God.

Are you ready to meet the Lord? Will you be going up with him and then coming back with him? Do you know it for sure? Today you can. I want to give you that opportunity to respond to God's love. Maybe for some of you, it's coming back to the Lord. You've heard it over and over and over again, but I want to tell you something. If you keep hearing it over and over again and you keep refusing, be careful because your heart's growing hard. If you can hear his voice today, the Bible says do not harden your heart. Turn from sin and live, and be saved. Will you pray with me?

Heavenly Father, we thank you this morning that Jesus came the first time and he accomplished what we could never accomplish in that he died and rose again so that we could be saved. But Lord, we realize today that your word also tells us that he is coming again. Lord, there may be some here this morning that are not ready, but Lord, they're deciding that they want to be ready. Oh God, I pray that your Spirit would move throughout this parking lot today and you would bring conviction of sin, a turning from it, repenting of it, getting right with God. That eternal destinies would be altered today. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, we pray. Lord, I pray that those that aren't ready would respond. We ask this in Jesus's name, amen.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Pastor John Randall on A Daily Walk, a message on the second coming of Jesus. You can hear it again online at adailywalk.org or oneplace.com. You can hear Pastor John's messages shortly after they're delivered by getting our app. It's free. Just do a search for Calvary South OC to download our app and start listening to the latest teachings from Pastor John.

Pastor John, by the way, records encouraging video daily devotionals. They are accessible at adailywalk.org. Start the day with Pastor John, a cup of coffee, and your Bible.

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