The Second Coming

Have you ever had the experience of reading a book or watching a movie, and when you finally get to the end, it’s a dud? I don’t like that. I could write a better ending than that! And you’re so disappointed. Well, I want to encourage you that you’re not going to be disappointed with the end of the book of Revelation. In a bigger sense, it is the end of God’s redemptive plan of history.

Someone said, “History is God’s story, ‘His-story.’” And Revelation 19-22 reminds me that God is writing the story. History is God’s story, and He is writing the story, and the end of it is marvelous and wonderful. It’s almost difficult to preach about, because it’s such a grand theme of all the Scriptures. It’s so glorious to think about Christ’s Second Coming.

And you won’t be disappointed with the end; that is, if you’re a Christian, you won’t be disappointed with the end. If you’re not a Christian, you’re going to be disappointed, because it’s not going to turn out the way that you thought it would.

History is God’s redemptive story. Jesus, who came the first time—we call it the First Advent of Christ—came to redeem us from sin. He came in a sinless, human body through the womb of the Virgin Mary. He came to be the sacrificial, substitutionary atonement for our sins. That was the purpose of His first coming. But in His Second Coming, He will come back to judge sin and to reign. So He came to redeem us the first time, and He’ll come back the second time to judge and to reign as “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

Hebrews 9:28 says, “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him he will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” So this speaks of His two Advents. Christ came to bear sin, but if we look for Him, He is coming back the second time not for sin but to save us from sin.

Today’s chapter will focus on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. He came the first time as the Lamb who would be slain; He’s coming back the second time as the Lion of the kingly tribe of Judah.

The Second Coming is one of the most-grand events in all of Scripture. Actually, everything in Revelation 1-18 is an introduction to chapters 19-22. So you might think of Revelation 1-18 as introductory or preparatory for the grand finale or conclusion of the coming again of Jesus Christ and of the establishment of His kingdom.

And we are no longer in any parenthetical section of Revelation. We’ve had three parenthetical sections or pauses in Revelation, but we are once again picking up the chronological flow, which now runs all the way to the end of Revelation.

The Second Coming is so prominent that for every verse about the first Advent, we have eight verses on the Second Advent or the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It’s a 1-to-8 ratio. The Second Coming is a doctrine that is taught in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.

Today we will contrast the rapture with the Second Coming. This information is very important to understand in order to understand Bible prophecy. The rapture and the Second Coming are not the same; they are two, distinct events, seven years apart. The rapture happens before the tribulation, and the Second Coming is at the end and culmination of the tribulation. The Second Coming is taught in both the Old Testament and in the New Testament. The Old Testament is silent about the rapture of the church, because it is a New Testament disclosure; it is a mystery that has now been disclosed or revealed in the New Testament. So the church rapture is a New Testament revelation that was a mystery or that was concealed in the Old Testament.

In the New Testament, 1 out of every 30 verses is on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It is a part of orthodox Christianity to hold the doctrine of the Second Coming. We have different views on how it will unfold and when it will take place, but all, true Christians believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus told us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth…”—that’s the coming of Christ—“…as it is in heaven.” So Jesus is going to come from heaven to earth and establish His kingdom.

There are three, primary senses of the kingdom of God. First, there is the sovereign kingdom of God. He sits on the throne—and we see it several times in our text today—where God is King, He is sovereign and He rules over the whole world. Second, as a believer, when you are born again, you enter into the spiritual kingdom of God. “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” So we’re the “King’s kids” living in the kingdom. This world is not our home, but we’re looking for a city “whose builder and maker is God.” The third view is in our passage today; when Jesus comes back as “King of kings and Lord of lords” from heaven, visibly, personally and gloriously, and sets up His kingdom on earth for 1,000 years. It’s known as “the millennium.” It’s the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant. Then that flows into the new heaven and the new earth and the eternal state.

So there are three senses of the kingdom of God: the sovereign kingdom, the spiritual kingdom for believers and the literal kingdom that is the fulfillment of God’s covenant to David that his seed will sit on his throne and be king on the earth forever. So it is thought of as an eternal kingdom, even though it starts with the 1,000-year reign, because it flows into the eternal state.

There are three scenes in our text today. The first scene is in verses 1-6, the scene in heaven of the alleluia songs. In heaven, all the saints, the church, are gathered together singing, worshipping and praising God. “After these things….” This is the Greek phrase “meta tauta,” which we saw in chapter 1, verse 4. “I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven…”—there’s our location—“…saying, ‘Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.’ Again they said, ‘Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!’ And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, ‘Amen! Alleluia!’ Then a voice came from the throne, saying, ‘Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!’ And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, ‘Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!’”

Note that there is this great alleluia chorus in heaven. They’re singing “Alleluia!” The word “hallelujah” is a Hebrew word made up of two words put together. The two words are “praise” and “Yahweh” or “Jehovah.” So it means “praise the Lord.” In the New Testament here we have “alleluia.” This is the Greek translation of “hallelujah.” But transliterated, it is actually “hallelujah.” It only appears four times in the New Testament, and all of them are in our text today. But it appears multiple times in Psalms. When it says in Psalms “Praise the Lord,” it’s the Hebrew word “hallelujah.”

The cool thing about “hallelujah” is that it is universal. I don’t know any language but English, but as I’ve traveled around the world and I don’t know the language, I just smile and say, “Hallelujah!” When I was in China, I didn’t know any Chinese, but I would just smile and say, “Hallelujah” and they would smile back and say, “Amen! Amen!” So you can go anywhere in the world and speak their language when you say, “Hallelujah!”

So how fitting that when we get to heaven, all the saints from all around the world will be gathered together singing, “Hallelujah!” It’s going to be, “Praise the Lord!”

Who is praising the Lord in heaven? Verse 1, “a great multitude”; verse 4, “the twenty-four elders,” which represent the church, and “the four living creatures,” which are angels or cherubim or angelic beings; in verse 5, “His servants,”; and again, in verse 6, “a great multitude.” So there are a lot of people in heaven praising God.

Now why are they praising the Lord? Why are they singing “Alleluia!”? There are four reasons why. In verse 1, for their salvation or redemption. “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!” When we get to heaven, we’re going to be praising the Lord for our salvation or redemption. Our salvation means that God has redeemed us by the blood of Jesus, who died on the Cross for our sins. That will be the central theme of the song in heaven.

Sometimes people complain, as they have when visiting Revival, that we sing too much. I think, Sing too much! We’re just getting started! They’re not going to like heaven, because we’ll be singing a lot! It’s going to be marvelous! And we’re going to sing, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!” What a glorious thing that is going to be!

Secondly, we’ll be praising the Lord for His righteous retribution, verses 2-3. “For true and righteous are His judgments.” Think about that. “Hallelujah, you’ve saved us, and your judgments are true and righteous!” Starting in verse 2, “He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her. Again they said, ‘Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!’” That indicates an eternal judgment upon the great harlot, which we read about in chapter 17, “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots,” and on the great commercial system of Babylon, in chapter 18, as well as on the wicked world. So they are praising God for their redemption and for His righteous retribution.

A lot of atheists and non-Christians complain to Christians asking, “How can a God of love let suffering happen in the world? How can a God of love allow Hitler to kill all those millions of Jews? How can a God of love do this or that?” They don’t have an answer for it, other than that there is no God; it’s just what happens and it is what it is. We at least have an understanding that there is a God; He sits on the throne. The point is that there will be final retribution. If there is no God, there is no final retribution; the wicked will not stand before the judge of all the earth and give an account of what they did.

So if you’ve been lied to, mistreated, abused or experienced some evil thing and you’ve received no justice on this earth, just wait; the judge of all the earth will be coming. And His eyes will be “like a flame of fire”; He sees and knows all things. The final retribution is coming, because God is going to come back and judge the wicked to bring that judgment.

The third thing, in verse 4, why they are praising the Lord is because of their realization. They “worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, ‘Amen! Alleluia!’” The word “worship” means “to ascribe worth.” When we get to heaven—and I don’t have a clear verse to support this, but it’s from the overall tenor of Scripture—I believe that the first, overwhelming, amazing thought we will have is that God is worthy of all worship and praise. Everything that confused us and was a problem to us on earth will vanish before the worthiness of the Lamb. So we will begin to worship, we’ll sing “Alleluia!” and we’ll ascribe worship to Him. We’ll come to this realization that God is worthy. That’s what the word “worship” means.

Notice also in verse 4 that He is sitting on the throne. Every time you see the throne in heaven, God is on the throne. Wouldn’t it be awful if you looked at the throne, but no one was on it? God was on the throne yesterday, He’s on the throne today and He will be on the throne for all eternity.

So they are praising God for redemption, for righteous retribution, for the realization that God is worthy to be worshipped and fourthly, verses 5-6, they are praising and singing “Alleluia!” in heaven for His reign. “Then a voice came from the throne, saying, ‘Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!’ And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude…”—this could be all of us together in heaven—“…as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, ‘Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!’” 

So we are worshipping God, who is worthy and redeemed us, because He is reigning on the earth and has brought righteous retribution. The Bible says in Psalm 150:6, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” Alleluia!

Now we move from the alleluia chorus in heaven to the second scene in heaven, the marriage and the supper of the Lamb, verses 7-10. “‘Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.’ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, ‘Write: “Blessed are those who are called to the marriage super of the Lamb!”’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true sayings of God.’ And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’”  

You might say in verse 7, that we have a fifth reason for the alleluia chorus in heaven. And that is that “the marriage of the Lamb has come,” and “His wife has made herself ready” and they are called together in this marriage. In verse 9, it’s called “the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

What is this “marriage of the Lamb”? It’s pretty clear that “the Lamb” is Jesus Christ, and the bride or “the wife” here is the bride of Christ or the church. When you become a Christian, you are engaged to Jesus Christ, your heavenly bridegroom. Then He gives you the Holy Spirit as an engagement ring, the Bible says. It’s an endowment, a down payment, in the giving of a ring. So the minute you become a Christian, you are engaged to Jesus. And when the rapture happens and the church is “caught up…to meet the Lord in the air,” then we will have “the marriage” and “the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

In Bible times, marriage had three phases. There was the engagement, which was called “the espousal” period and was legally binding, usually a year before the wedding; there was the marriage ceremony; and there was the marriage feast after the ceremony. The feast would go on for a whole week! I’m glad I don’t live in Bible days; you get married and everyone comes to your house for a whole week. “I don’t think so. We’re outta here!”

But Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go…I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” He addresses this to us, His beloved, the church, the true believers, the body of Christ. The Bible uses several metaphors for the church. We’re not talking about the local church but we’re talking about the universal church. It uses the concept of a body; Christ is our Head, and we’re all members of that one body. He also uses the concept of a building; we’re all bricks put together and become the habitation of God by the Spirit. Then He uses the image of a bride in our text; we will be wed to Christ. Then we will be ready to be “caught up…to meet the Lord in the air.”

So He gives us the engagement ring of His Holy Spirit, we will be raptured and wed to Him and we’ll celebrate with Him.

Now the Bible is not really clear whether the supper happens in heaven or on earth. It would seem to indicate that the marriage happens in heaven, and then we come back for the marriage reception on earth. Some believe the marriage supper could last 1,000 years during the millennium. I think that’s pretty cool!

But needless to say, we are His bride, we’ll be “caught up…to meet the Lord,” we’ll be wed to Him and then we’ll return with Him to celebrate on the earth. What a blessing that will be!

There are a couple of statements here that confuse some people. The first, in verses 7-8, is “made herself ready.” What does that mean? How do you make yourself ready? It could be implying that by your repentance, by your faith, by you trusting Jesus that He has imputed righteousness to you. We know that “by grace you have been saved through faith…not of works,” and we trust Him, so He forgives us.

Or it could be referring to the preparation of their wedding garments through their service. It could indicate that because the next statement actually says, “And to her was granted…”—that would be God’s grace—“…for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” It says that the bride “made herself ready. And to her it was granted,” so it could be that they were talking about our service and not our salvation or sanctification. Your salvation has three parts: you’re saved, you’re sanctified and you serve. You should be serving the Lord. And where it says, “The fine linen is the righteous acts…”—or “deeds”—“…of the saints,” it could be that you are making or preparing your wedding garments for that wedding day.

I am a father of three brides, so I know what goes into a wedding garment. You travel the world to find that one, perfect wedding dress! I know how much they cost. I know they’re still hanging in the closet in our house. Why? I don’t know. I think we should rent them out or something. Make some money off of them. But, man, do they put a lot of work and energy into that wedding dress! Even if the wedding is in the evening, they start getting ready at 3:30 in the morning! What’s the deal? “Well, I need six hours to do my makeup!” Really?

In light of that, of all the weddings I’ve officiated at, I’ve never seen an ugly bride. I’ve seen ugly grooms. Lord, have mercy! I’ve never seen the doors thrown open, the bride standing there and I say, “Oh, bummer!” That’s never happened to me. She spent months getting ready for this moment; it’s impossible to look bad.

The carryover for us as believers is that in our service, we are preparing to meet Jesus face to face. We’re preparing our gown.

I have another intuition, Biblically, and I believe it could be true. When we get to see Jesus, no matter what we’ve done in our service to Him, we’re going to feel so unworthy and that it was so inadequate and it falls so short. Let alone that we may have had a saved soul but a wasted life.

Don’t let that happen to you. If you’re a Christian, you’re going to see Jesus face to face and you want to have a beautiful wedding garment. You want to serve Him faithfully and diligently and live for Him. You don’t want to be embarrassed when Jesus comes.

So I believe the concept could involve the béma, the reward seat of Christ, the judgment seat of Christ. The preparing of the wedding garment shows we’ve made ourselves ready and that it is the righteous acts or deeds, the fruit of our salvation, that will grant us the rewards at this reward seat of Christ.

Then, in verse 9, John is told, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” In the book of Revelation there are seven “blesseds.” Some scholars believe this refers to the Old Testament saints, who will be called to that supper, will observe the bride, the church, being wed to Christ. It also could be a reference just to the church.
Verse 9, “And he said to me, ‘These are the true sayings of God.’” What that means is that what is seen in the vision and what is heard in the voice is so amazing, so wonderful, so marvelous that it’s hard to believe. But John says that these are the true sayings of God.

Verse 10, “And I fell at his feet to worship him.” John was talking about the angel who was giving him the vision. “But he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’”

Basically that statement is a way of saying that true prophecy from God and a true understanding of prophecy always centers on and focuses in on and glorifies Jesus Christ. The spirit of prophecy is the spirit of Jesus. All understanding of Biblical prophecy brings us back to Jesus Christ. He is the focus and center of all Biblical prophecy. How true that is.

Now the third section that we come to in this chapter is the grand finale. It is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, in verses 11-16. So we have the alleluia songs, the wedding and the supper of the Lamb and we have the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.” No doubt about it; this is a reference to Jesus Christ. “His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns,” or “diadems.” “He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.” Only the Apostle John used that title for Jesus Christ. “And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them…”—the word is “shepherd”—“…with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

This is the event that all history is leading toward. When I say “all history,” I mean secular or sacred, and that God is in control of all history. And not just from the time of The Fall. When Adam and Eve fell, it didn’t catch God by surprise. Before God made Adam and Eve, He knew they would fall. He knew what would happen. He had a plan of greater, redemptive glory. We’ll understand it better when we get to heaven, but it’s a marvelous plan, I’m sure, what God has put together.

So heaven is opened, and this is the grand finale of all God’s revelation and history. This is where it’s going.

Now when heaven is opened, in verse 11, I want you to notice five things about this Second Coming of Christ. First His coming, in verse 11. Heaven was “opened,” He came on “a white horse,” He “was called Faithful and True,” and the purpose of His coming was “in righteousness He judges and makes war.”

Heaven was opened not so we could get into heaven, like it was in chapter 4, verse 1, but so Jesus Christ could come out from heaven down to earth. This is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

He is called “Faithful and True,” because He keeps His promises. In Matthew 24:27, Jesus said, “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” And every eye will see Him—the glory and majesty of His personal coming. Jesus is coming and “in righteousness He judges and makes war.”

This is not the same as the rapture of the church. Don’t confuse the two. Some people take rapture verses and Second Coming verses and blend them together. That’s why I believe it is important to see that they are two, separate events. The rapture involves only the church. There is no mention of Satan being bound. There is no mention of his kingdom on earth. In the rapture, we’re “caught up…to meet the Lord in the air.” In the Second Coming, we come back from heaven with Christ to earth, and there is judgment and the coming is glorious and visible. So there is a lot of contrast between the two events.

John 14:1-6, 1 Corinthians 15:51-58 and 1 Thessalonians 4 are three, clear verses describing the rapture and not the Second Coming. The rapture happens before the seven years of the tribulation. The Second Coming, Matthew 24:29-30, happens at the end of the tribulation. So I believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, and I believe the Second Coming takes place before the millennial reign of Christ. The Second Coming is called “the pre-millennial return of Christ.” When Christ returns, He will establish His kingdom in fulfillment of the Davidic covenant where Christ reigns on earth.

In Acts 1:9-11, we see the story of Christ’s Ascension back to heaven. He came from heaven, entered the world through the womb of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, “Never man spake like this man,” died on the Cross, was buried and rose from the dead. That’s a pretty tough act to follow. How do you wrap up the story?

So we see Jesus on the Mount of Olives forty days after His Resurrection, and He gave the great commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” Then Jesus started to lift off. He bodily, visibly, physically ascended while His disciples watched until “a cloud received Him out of their sight.” And He kept ascending until He was seated at the right hand of God the Father. That’s where He is right now, where He lives to save and to intercede, and He’s coming back again.

The disciples were blown away by this. What an exit! While they’re staring up into heaven, an angel shows up. If I were the angel, I’d say, “What are you standing around looking into heaven for? Didn’t He just tell you to ‘Go into all the world’?” Instead, the angel said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come…”—there’s the promise—“…in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” That’s the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. So His Second Coming is going to be personal, literal, visible and it is going to be glorious.

Notice, secondly, in verse 12, His countenance when He comes. “His eyes…”—can you imagine seeing the eyes of Jesus?!—“…were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.” That is one of the great mysteries of the Bible: what’s that name? Of all the beautiful titles and names for Jesus, we don’t know what this one is but only He Himself.

What a contrast. When Jesus was on the earth the first time, the Bible says, “Jesus wept.” That’s the shortest verse in the Bible. He was at the grave of Lazarus, and He shed tears. But when Jesus comes back the second time, his eyes will be “a flame of fire,” which speaks of His discernment and His knowledge in His judgment, His omniscience.

Then we see his crowns. The word is “diadem,” or “kingly crown.” When Jesus came the first time, He wore a crown of thorns, as He suffered and died on the Cross. What a contrast!

And then, thirdly, His clothing is mentioned in verse 13. “He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God.” So when Jesus Christ comes back, He will have a garment on that is blood red, because He treads the winepress of the wrath of God. He’s coming to judge the wicked in righteousness and truth.

Jesus is called “The Word of God.” Only the Apostle John used this title for Jesus Christ. That is John’s favorite term. It’s the “lagós” of God, the revelation of God’s Word. It’s the Word of God as personified in the person of Jesus Christ.

Then notice, fourthly, His church, in verse 14. “And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.” Earlier, in verse 8, the “fine linen” was “the righteous acts of the saints.” I’m convinced that the armies mentioned in verse 14 are a reference to the church.

Earlier we were described as the bride, and now we’re the armies. But it’s interesting that as His armies, we don’t do any fighting; Jesus does all the fighting. And how does He fight? With the Word of His mouth. He has a sharp sword that comes out of His mouth. So we’re just riding along and hangin’ out with Jesus. I like where it says we “followed Him.”

There is a phrase in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 that says, after the rapture, “We shall always be with the Lord.” So the minute we’re raptured, we’re face to face with Jesus. And never again will we be parted from Him.

When Jesus comes back, we’ll be coming with Him on white horses. A white horse speaks of victory and conquering. When a Roman general conquered an enemy, they would have a parade, and they would ride a white horse. It spoke of their victory.

So in the rapture, the church goes up to be with Christ “in the air.” But in the Second Coming, the church comes back with Christ. In the book of Jude, he quotes the prophet Enoch in verses 14-15, saying, “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’” It is one of the oldest prophesies known to man, from Enoch, and it is a reference to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

So we have His coming, in verse 11, His countenance described, in verse 12, His clothing, in verse 13 and the church riding with Him, in verse 14. And then fifthly, in verses 15-16, we have His conquest or His vindication. “Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword.” This is symbolic here. It’s speaking of the power and authority of His Word. In Hebrews 4:12, it says, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” So God speaks with His omnipotent power, and He abolishes His enemies. Verse 15, “…that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them…”—or literally, “shepherd them”—“…with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

At the end of the chapter, when Jesus comes back, He will come back at the height of the battle of Armageddon and at the end of the tribulation. He will wipe out the Antichrist and his armies. So He comes back and treads the winepress of His fierceness, and I’ve highlighted in my Bible “and wrath of Almighty God.” There is such a thing in the Scriptures.

Verse 16, “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

This message is hard for me, because it’s so grand, so mega, so big and so prominent in the Scriptures. I can barely even touch on it. And I know that sometimes doing exposition on such a grand theme like this that you feel so inadequate and unable to convey the meaning.

But one thing that has really struck me over the years as I’ve studied the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the idea that it is the grandest, most glorious appearing of God to man ever in history. When Jesus came the first time, that was pretty cool. But as the hymn says, “He was veiled in flesh.” He had to go up on a mountain with Peter, James and John, and He had to pull back His humanity to let His deity come forth so they could see the glory of His coming. The Transfiguration was a preview of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It was so glorious that Peter said, “Master…let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Then a voice came from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”

When you think about the Second Coming, the heavens will be rent, “as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west” and the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Godhead, is actually going to come back down to earth! No one is going to say, “Who is that guy? Who’s that guy on the white horse?!”

And if you’re not coming back with Him, you’re going to be freaking out; He’s coming back to judge.

So in His Second Coming, He’s not “veiled in flesh,” He’s not incognito. When He came the first time, Jesus didn’t have a halo. He didn’t glow in the dark. He didn’t have vibrato in His voice. No; He just looked like us. He was a carpenter from Galilee.

But that’s not how He’s coming back. The ending is marvelous. The ending is wonderful. When He comes back, “every eye will see Him.” 2 Thessalonians 1:7 says, “The Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels.” The word “revealed” there means “unveiled.” It’s the word “apocalypse.” It’s the unveiling of God for everyone to see, as He comes back.

He will put an end to war, He will judge the nations, He will cast out the Antichrist and the false prophet into hell, He will bind Satan for 1,000 years in the bottomless pit, He will sit on the throne of David, He will reverse the curse, He will judge the unsaved at the great, white throne, He will make a new heaven and a new earth and Revelation 21:5 says, “Behold, I make all things new.” Amen.