Lesson 166 - Senior
Memory Verse
"Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him" (Psalm 50:3).
Notes
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
"And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
"Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
"So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:29-35).
"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen" (Revelation 1:7).
The Lord Jesus is coming back from the Marriage Supper of the Lamb with His overcoming saints to avenge the blood of His servants. His coming will be in such glory and power that the very brightness of it will destroy the wicked who will have been gathered to oppose the inauguration of His righteous Kingdom ([2TS:2:8]; [REV:16:12-14]; [REV:19:11-21]).
He will come back with ten thousands of His saints in flaming fires of judgment. "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives" (Zechariah 14:4-9). The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ ([REV:11:15]; [REV:19:16]). And the kings of the earth, the great men, and the rich men, shall hide themselves and say to the rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb" (Revelation 6:16). They will cast their idols of silver and of gold to the moles and bats ([ISA:2:19-20]; [LUK:23:27-31]; [JAM:5:1-6]).
According to the word of prophecy, Christ must come in this generation. He declared that, "this generation [the generation that should see the signs fulfilled] shall not pass, till all these things be done" (Mark 13:30). The fig tree has already put forth leaves; in fact, it is almost in the full leaf of summertime ([MAK:13:28-29]). The signs that Jesus said should come have taken place and all is in readiness, so far as we can see, for this grand event, with the possible exception that the Bride is not yet fully ready ([MAT:24:3-14]; [1TS:3:13]; [REV:20:6]).
The generation that heard the preaching of Noah saw the Flood come ([GEN:6:9], [GEN:6:14-22]; [2PE:2:5]). The Jews that heard the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem saw it happen 40 years after (Matthew 24:1, 2). Therefore, we have reason to feel that, this generation, which has seen these prophesied signs fulfilled, will also see the coming of the Son of God.
The Two Appearances of Christ
There will be two appearances of Christ under the one coming. He will come, first in mid-air, as a thief in the night, when the fully-overcoming saints, living as well as dead, will be caught up to meet Him ([MAT:24:14], [MAT:24:36], [MAT:24:42], [MAT:24:44]; [JHN:14:3]; [1CO:15:51-52]; [1TS:4:13-18]). The world of sinners will not see Him at that time, but only those will see Him whose spiritual eyes are open to the fact of His coming and who are ready for that return. The second appearance is the subject of this lesson, the Revelation of Christ ([MAT:24:30-31]; [ACT:1:11]; [2TS:1:7-10]). At that time He will come with ten thousands of His saints and "every eye shall see him" (Revelation 1:7).
"Enoch... the seventh from Adam, prophesied... saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
"To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him" (Jude 14, 15).
At the Rapture He comes as the Bridegroom to take unto Himself a pure and holy Bride ([MAT:25:1-10]; [EPH:5:27]). At the Revelation He comes back with His Bride to rule the nations and to set up His Millennial Kingdom at which time the resurrected and glorified fully-overcoming saints will rule with Him here on earth ([REV:2:26-27]; [REV:5:10]; [REV:12:5]; [REV:19:14]). At the Rapture He comes to meet the saints in the clouds ([1TS:4:17]). At the Revelation he comes to the earth in His majesty. His feet shall stand, at the Revelation, on the Mount of Olives, at the same place from which His ascension took place more than two thousands years ago ([ZEC:14:4-5]; [ACT:1:11]). The Rapture may occur at any moment, according to the promise ([MAT:24:26-42]). But the Revelation cannot occur until the Antichrist has been revealed and the Great Tribulation transpires on the earth ([DAN:12:1]; [2TS:1:7-10]; [REV:8:1-13], [REV:9:1-21], and [REV:16:1-21]). The Kingdom of Heaven The Revelation of Christ will usher in the personal reign of Jesus Christ on earth. The Church age, which was begun when the Holy Ghost was poured out upon the 120 in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost, will end at the Rapture. At the close of the Great Tribulation, when Christ brings these resurrected and glorified full overcomers back to earth, and raises from their graves the ones who have been martyred during the Tribulation, the Kingdom of Heaven will enter an important phase, or stage. The first stage, or phase, of the Kingdom of Heaven is the setting up of the Kingdom in the individual heart. The entrance into the Kingdom is by repentance ([MAT:3:2]; [MAT:4:17]; [MAT:6:10]; [MAT:10:7]; [MAT:11:11]; [LUK:17:20-21]). The King comes into the heart of the sincere penitent and that person thereby becomes a member of the Kingdom, for where the King is, there is the Kingdom. There is another phase of the Kingdom found in the world. It is the body of true believers who assemble together to worship God, to spread the Gospel, and to prepare themselves -" to make themselves ready -" for the Rapture of the Church, the coming of the King. And also in the midst of these who assemble in the name of the Lord there is the invisible Church, which in the Bible is called the Bride of Christ. This, in itself, is still a higher development of the Kingdom plan ([REV:19:7-8]; [REV:21:2], [REV:21:9]). At the Rapture the Bride is caught away to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and there will see the King in His regal and majestically infinite beauty, and also as the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world ([REV:1:12-18]; [REV:5:6-14]; [REV:13:8]). When the times are full and the events in both Heaven and earth have come to their conclusion, these saints, as the armies of Heaven, come back with Christ -" their King -" to set up thrones on this earth and rule with Him for a thousand years. The martyred Tribulation saints will be resurrected and will also reign with Christ at this time. This is the Millennial Reign of Christ, a still higher stage, or phase, of the glorious Kingdom of God ([ISA:35:1-10]; [ISA:65:18-25]; [MIC:4:1-4]; [ZEC:14:4-21]). At the end of the Millennium, Satan is loosed from his prison for a brief interval, and the nations of the earth -" those who have been ruled by Christ and the saints of God -" are given an opportunity to choose the kingdom they prefer. And still fresh in their minds will be the memory of the righteous rule of Christ; but in spite of all this, an innumerable army of people will ally themselves with Satan, the archenemy of God, and will go against the beloved city where Christ is enthroned. They will fight against Christ and the saints of God and will attempt to overthrow the city and dethrone Christ, its King, that they might usurp the Kingdom for themselves. But fire will come forth out of Heaven and destroy all these evil people who, even after a thousand years of peace, justice, equity, and evil, and righteousness, show by their conduct that they prefer the ways of evil, unrighteousness, and destruction ([REV:20:7-10]). "The heart [of unregenerated man] is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Jeremiah 17:9, 10). When this last battle is fought, God will call all those who have not yet been judged to the Great White Throne Judgment, that they may give an account for their deeds done in life. The lake of fire will then receive its occupants for the never-ending eternity, and God will destroy both Heaven and earth that He might make all things new. There will be nothing left that will remind the redeemed ones of sin, of sorrow, of sickness, or of disappointments. God will wipe all tears from their eyes and they will spend eternity with Him in that never-ending land of day. [Read [REV:14:13]; [REV:21:1-27]; [REV:22:1-21].] This is the last, and perfect, stage of the Kingdom of God. Christ will, at this time, give the Kingdom back to God, having completed His voluntarily assigned task, the Redemption of mankind and the complete subjugation of sin and Satan ([1CO:15:22-28]). The Hope of the Resurrection Christ is now the "certain nobleman [who] went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom" (Luke 19:11-19). He will return to take that Kingdom in its earthly completeness, at His Revelation. Then shall every knee bow, and every tongue confess, for He has been given a name that is greater than any other name, because He was willing to taste death for every man, that we who love and serve Him might have everlasting life ([ROM:14:11]; [PHL:2:5-11]). The whole earth is groaning for its day of redemption, when Jesus shall come back to earth again to rule and reign. Everything that lives longs to burst into that new life. The vegetation is now dwarfed, and nothing grows s luxuriantly as it will when Jesus reigns on earth ([ISA:35:1-10]; [ISA:55:12-13]). And how much more do we, as Christians, "groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body" (Romans 8:23). Through God"s Plan of Salvation we may know that we are truly justified, entirely sanctified, and baptised with the Holy Ghost and fire, and that we are ready to meet Jesus, if He should come at this very moment. But there is also a longing in our hearts and a crying out from our inmost being for the redemption of our bodies, that we might be with Christ forever: "Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Romans 8:21; I John 3:1-3). However, we have this confidence that if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in us, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken our mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in us ([ROM:8:11]). Some Great Events at the Revelation of Christ At the time of the Revelation, or immediately subsequent to it, many great and important events will transpire. The return of Christ will be the great epochal event of the whole era. Upon it all the others will hinge and depend. The Jews will look upon Him whom they have pierced. They will have been mourning for Him and praying that He might come and relieve them from their suffering and trouble in the Great Tribulation. They will accept Christ as their Messiah at His Revelation ([ISA:25:9]; [ISA:66:8-13]; [EZE:20:40-42]; [EZE:36:24]; [AMO:9:15]; [ZEC:12:10]; [ZEC:13:6]; [REV:1:7]). The saints of God will have received their rewards and commendation for faithfulness at the time of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb; and they will, at the Revelation of Christ, be given authority over cities according to their several abilities and faithfulness in the past ([LUK:19:11-27]). Christ"s coming will be judgment for all the living nations. He will set up His judgment bar and Throne that He might remove all who offend and them, which do iniquity ([MAT:13:40-43]; [MAT:25:31-46]). In fact, the whole Millennium will be one continuous day of judgment when Christ and the saints will sit as judges over the nations of the world, since the nations are subject to the righteous administration of Christ and His saints. Battle of Armageddon But the great event, occurring at the Revelation of Christ, before His Millennial Reign, is the Battle of Armageddon. John the Beloved saw Christ coming to earth on white horse, stating that in righteousness He doth judge and make war ([REV:19:11-16]). There will be a great and terrible slaughter on that day ([REV:14:20]; [REV:17:14]; [REV:19:11-21]). The sinners that oppose Him will be destroyed by His mighty power ([ISA:13:9]; [ISA:29:5-7]; [ISA:24:20]). These sinners, or armies of the Antichrist, will be those who have been mustered from the nations of the earth through the efforts of the evil spirits sent out over the earth by Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet ([REV:16:13]) during the Tribulation, in anticipation of the battle that Satan knows is to come ([REV:16:12-14]). This will be one of Satan"s great attempts to usurp the Kingdom from Christ. "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. "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. "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. "And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. "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. "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. "And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; "That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. "And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth; and all the fowls were filled with their flesh" (Revelation 19:11-21). "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, "And he 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. "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" (Revelation 20:1-4).