Soon Coming of Our Lord | Part 2

Do you recognize the holiness of our Lord Jesus Christ?

Listen to this. Welcome to Love Worth Finding featuring the dynamic teaching and insights of pastor and author Adrian Rogers. Eternity is only a heartbeat away. At any moment Jesus may return as the book of Revelation warns that time is near. In part one of today's message, Pastor Rogers gave insights regarding Jesus' return, His humanity, His majesty, purity, scrutiny, integrity, authority, and mastery. If you have your Bible, turn now to Revelation chapter 1 verse 3 as we hear the powerful conclusion of this message, soon coming of our Lord.

And I want you to look at them very carefully because this will help you in your worship because your worship is going to be no better than your vision of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first thing I want you to see is that He is the resurrected Christ with undiminished humanity. Friend, when the Lord Jesus Christ took our humanity, He took our humanity and He will forever be like us. And when we see Him, we will forever be like us.

We will forever be like Him. Second thing He sees is the reigning Christ with unrivaled majesty. When He came the first time, He came to redeem, but when He comes again, He will come to reign. When He came the first time, He came as a Savior, but when He comes again, He's coming as the sovereign. And then I want you to notice in verse 14, He is also the righteous Christ with undiminished purity. His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow.

What does that talk about? His holiness, His purity. And if you think that He can accept you as you are without being born again, you are grossly ignorant of two things. You don't know how holy He is and you don't know how sinful you are. He is the revealing Christ with unhindered scrutiny. Look, if you will, again in verse 14. And His eyes, whereas a flame of fire.

What does this mean? It means that His vision not only sees you, it sees through you. He cannot be deceived, He cannot be disputed, He cannot be discredited. Number five, He is the relentless Christ with untarnished integrity. Look in verse 15. And His feet, like unto fine brass as if they burn.

Turned in a furnace. Now, in the Bible, brass is an emblem of judgment. The Lord Jesus Christ is the judge as well as the Savior. Number six, He is the regal Christ with unchallenged authority. Look, if you will, again in verse 15. And His voice was as the sound of many waters. Now, this speaks of the majesty and the power of our Lord. His voice, like many waters. There'll be no talking back.

We'll stand before Him in silence. Number seven, He is the regulating Christ with unequaled mastery. Look in verse 16. And He had in His right hand seven stars. He's holding seven stars in His right hand.

What does that speak of? They speak of all creation that He has in His right hand as He is the one who regulates and rules the universe. These stars have a deeper symbolic meaning.

Look down in verse 20. The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. Every one of the seven churches in the book of Revelation had an angel.

And the word angel is the word angelos, which means messenger. And the Bible teaches believers this refers to the pastor. Did you know that your pastor's an angel? You didn't know that, did you? He's also a star.

You didn't know that, did you? And I'll tell you one thing, you can rejoice in He's in Jesus' hands. God keeps His men. He keeps His messengers, those who are God-called. And it's just His way of saying, look, I've got this thing in my hand. Adrian, it's not your ministry.

It's not your church. It's mine. I hold you in my hands. As a matter of fact, I have a motto beautifully framed that's on my wall in my study at home. And here's what it says, it says, in the last part of this, and out of his mouth, when a sharp two-edged sword, what is this sword? This sword speaks of his word.

Hebrews 4, verse 12 says, for the word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. And when he comes again, the Lord Jesus that we read about there in Revelation chapter 1 and verse 3, when he comes, and again in verse 7, behold, he cometh with clouds. He is coming to take vengeance.

Put this verse down, 2 Thessalonians 1, verses 7 through 9, and to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's coming again in vengeance. And he has said, vengeance is mine.

I will repay, saith the Lord. And that the weapon of vengeance is the sword that goes out of his mouth. And put this down, Revelation 19, verses 11 through 16. The apostle John is still seeing this vision. And he says, And I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse. And he that set 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 hath 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 listen to verse 15, 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. This speaks of the Lord Jesus when he comes back to this earth to rule and reign with heaven's armies, as he comes upon a white charger, the symbol of victory. And as he comes with the crowns upon his head, his eyes like a flame of fire, out of his mouth is this sword that comes. Remember, this sword is his word. And this blessed blade cuts both ways. It is a sword that comes from heaven. It is the savor of life unto life, or death unto death. If it does not bless you and save you, it will cut you and judge you.

Be careful how you handle that blade. That word that goes out of his mouth. You see, he created everything with his words. In the book of Genesis, he spoke and worlds sprang into space and darkness fled and life appeared.

Oh, the mighty power of that two-edged sword. In the book of the Revelation, he will speak again. And what this is talking about in Revelation chapter 19 is the battle of Armageddon when the beast and the antichrist and all of the malevolent armies are gathered around Jerusalem to make war against God's ancient people.

When it looks like the end of things has come to a drastic end and it looks like there is no hope, then the heavens are opened. And the Lord Jesus comes this time, not for his saints, but with his saints. And the Bible says he will destroy them with the sword that goes out of his mouth. Many people have wondered what the battle of Armageddon is going to be like. Here is the antichrist. He's gathered against Jerusalem.

They're bivouacked there in the valley of Megiddo. I have been there and watched and seen that plane which Napoleon said was the world's greatest natural battlefield. And all of the contingency of the U.N. is out there one more time to make war upon God's ancient people that Satan has hated so much.

And it looks like there is no hope whatsoever. And I can imagine in my mind I see the fighter planes and the laser weapons and the napalm and the bombs and all the artillery that antichrist will have. But our battle is going to be won with one weapon, a sword.

Don't get the idea that all of us are going to come and do hand-to-hand combat. We will not, folks. We'll be with him.

We'll be behind him. But the battle will be won with the sword that's in his mouth. You know how the battle is going to be won? What's the Lord going to say? I mean, here's the battle raging. I think it will be over in two words. He's dead.

That's it. I mean, the Lord Jesus who spoke them into existence will speak them into oblivion. He is this revenging Christ who is coming in an unspoiled victory. Then he is the resplendent Christ with undimmed glory. Look, if you will, in verse 16. And his countenance was as the sun shineth in its strength.

You know, the apostle Paul was on the road to Damascus. He saw light above the noonday sun. It blinded him until God miraculously healed him. This speaks of the glory, the radiance of our Lord that will light all of heaven for all eternity.

It will be the light of the universes. Who can describe this glory? We have learned of this glory.

2 Corinthians 4, verse 6. For God, who commandeth the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We have the light of the knowledge of God, but we have never yet seen that glory.

The light of heaven is the face of Jesus Christ, brighter than the noonday sun. He is the resplendent Christ with undimmed glory. And then, tenthly, he is the reassuring Christ with undeniable deity. This is the one that we worship. For I am the first and the last.

I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell and of death. Now, may God forgive.

Listen to me. May God forgive our lack of reverence. Anybody who comes before God irreverently has never seen this Christ.

You can be sure of this. John saw this Christ in glory. He did not lay his head upon his chest. He fell at his feet like a dead man. Now, what has happened is this. This is the one who has the keys of death and hell. Death, that monarch of terror, laid his bony hands on the Lord Jesus Christ and laughed with a hoarse laugh. Death, when Jesus was nailed up on that cross, thought he'd conquered. Jesus was taken down from that cross, a bloody corpse. And death waved his black banner of triumph. And when Jesus died and was nailed to that cross, sighs and moans and groans went through the sepulchres of the righteous dead. And death lifted up his scepter like a king.

But death did not understand what was happening. Jesus Christ met death in death's own territory. And permitted himself to be taken captive by death that he, Jesus, might lead death captive. And the pale monarch death took Jesus into the silence of that tomb. But there inside that tomb, the Lord Jesus undermined death's strongholds. And the Lord Jesus kindled the star of resurrection in the murky vaults of that tomb. And there the Lord Jesus Christ became the death of death and put death to death and pulled the sting from death, took the crown from death and broke that crown. And Jesus became the death of death. And when he comes again, the same Jesus that walked out of that grave is going to give a shout. And it will be come forth. The same words that he gave when he stood before the tomb of Lazarus. And the voice of the Lord Jesus will roll through the length and breadth of death's empire and bring it crashing down.

And at the command of the Lord Jesus, from the sea and from the land, the bodies of the saints will be raised. That's what he's saying here. Listen to it. Well, now I know the message today is a little different than some that you've been used to hearing. And I know it's full of imagery. I know it's full of symbols.

I know it's full of things that you say, Pastor, I can hardly relate to. Well, you're not really supposed to relate to it all. You're really not supposed to understand it all. It's symbolic. It's imagery.

But it is fact put in terms so as to impress our heart. I heard one time of a man who did not have the joys of a formal education. He had a good heart, and he loved God like many people who don't have a formal education. And this man loved God's Word, and he had been reading the book of Revelation, had marked almost every page, and a tear had fallen on almost every page. And a cynic challenged him and said, you can't understand that book. It's an enigma.

It's a mystery. You can't understand that book. You don't understand it, do you? He said, yes, I understand it. He said, you do? He said, yes. He said, can you explain it to me? He said, yes. He said, do it.

He said, okay, we win. Amen. Give God a hand.

Friends, that's it. Jesus has the keys of death and of hell. Now, this is the Lord Jesus that we've been preaching about. This is the one that we're going to give the glory to the rest of our lives, God helping us. You know, sometimes I think we talk too casually about this one, this Savior.

Let's suppose it's Sunday morning. The people are coming into the sanctuary. The choir has rehearsed. They put on their robes. They're having pleasant conversation as they fill the choir loft.

The people are coming in and putting their books on the seats. The ushers are at the door greeting the people and giving them a smile and a handshake. The call to worship is given, and the pastor stands in the pulpit to intone the morning prayer. And suppose he prays something like this. Lord Jesus, we've come today to give you glory and honor and majesty. Go, Lord Jesus, we just pray that you'll show up here today. Lord Jesus, that you will reveal to us your glory and your majesty. You know, we've been preaching about this for a long time. You know, we sometimes liberally pray prayers like that. Lord, show up here today.

Reveal to us your glory and your majesty. And suppose, boom, the back door opened. And down that aisle he comes, the same one that John saw on Patmos.

Just imagine. His hair white and glistening, whiter than snow. His face with the Shekinah glory brighter than the sun. His feet glowing as if in a furnace. He comes and his voice is deafening.

He's wearing regal robes. And he begins to walk down that aisle. What would you do? What would you do?

Would you get your Bible and ask him to autograph it? What would you do? Would you embrace him and give him a hug?

What would you do? Would you ask him to sit by you and share the hymnal with you? What would you do if the Lord Jesus appeared today? Would you say, Lord Jesus, there's a question in the Bible I've always wanted answered. Would you answer it? What would you do?

I think I know what you would do. You'd fall on your face before him, would you not? That's what John did.

John said, when I saw him, I fell on my face like a dead man. May God forgive our irreverence. Holy is he. Holy is he. Holy is he. When you catch a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ, when you truly see the Lord Jesus, when you truly worship him as he is described here in the book of the Revelation, I'll tell you several things it will do for you, my precious friend.

Number one, it will bring your full submission. When the apostle John fell before him prostrate, it meant indeed that he is Lord, not man. Have you surrendered everything, all that you have? I'll tell you something else it will do for you when you see the Lord Jesus. It will give you incredible reverence for him. I'll tell you something else it will do for you when you learn how to worship the Lord Jesus Christ. Not will it only bring your submission. Not only will it cause your reverence. But, friend, it will give to you a great, great assurance. Do you know what the Lord Jesus said to the apostle John when he was there on his face before him? He said, John, don't be afraid.

Fear not. Do you know what the fear of God is? It's love on its knees.

Love on its knees. We must have that reverence, but we must never have that terror, that fear before him. The person who truly worships the Lord can't be afraid, really, of much else. Because when you put your eyes on him, when you see those feet, when you see those eyes of his, when you see that hair white like wool, when you see the regal robes that he wears, when you see his feet going forth to judge, you say, who can stand before him?

I'll stand with him. And it takes away that fear. And from what to do and how to write the book of the Revelation and all the rest of it, it came after that time of worship. You know, we can do more than worship after we worship, but we can really do no more than worship until we worship. But when we worship, when we worship, there comes that submission. There comes that reverence. There comes that assurance. There comes that commission from our Lord. To serve him. Lord, help us to see you by the eye of faith and through the revelation of your word, not only as you were when you came in your first coming, but as you are, and as you will be in your second coming.

And with that, we'll conclude this dynamic message from Adrian Rogers. And today, may we begin to see Jesus in all his glory as we anticipate his soon coming. If you have further questions about Jesus, who he is, what he means to you, how to receive the forgiveness he's offering you, go to our Discover Jesus page at lwf.org slash radio.

You'll find resources and materials there that can answer questions you may have about your faith. Again, click Discover Jesus at lwf.org slash radio. Now to order a copy of today's message, call us at 1-877-LOVEGOD and mention the title Soon Coming of Our Lord. This message is also part of the powerful and convicting series Exalting Your Savior. For the complete collection, all seven powerful messages, call 1-877-LOVEGOD or go to lwf.org slash radio.

Or you can write us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. Thanks for joining us for today's insightful lesson. As you study Revelation 1 today, give Jesus your full submission, your reverence, and receive his great assurance. And be sure to tune in tomorrow for more profound truth simply stated right here on Love Worth Finding. We were so encouraged by a listener in Ohio who wrote not long ago, listen to this. The first time I heard Adrian Rogers speak on my car radio, I wanted to pull over and write down everything he was saying. I have considered him my spiritual mentor ever since.

Do you identify with that? We love hearing how these messages inspire and equip you to mature in your walk with Christ. Our ultimate goal as a ministry is to provide these tools with the hope that you'll use them, you'll grow in Christ, and then you'll pass on the good news of the gospel. When you donate to the ministry right now, we'd love to send you the book, The Passion of Christ and the Purpose of Life. In his clear personal tone, renowned pastor and Bible teacher Adrian Rogers leads us to Jesus' death on the cross, the turning point of all history and the center of the Christian faith. Request your copy of this book when you call with a gift at 1-877-LOVE-GOD.