The Coming King – Part 2

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On today's edition of Pathway to Victory. Jesus Christ is returning to earth one day to reward the righteous and to punish the unrighteous. And it is that certain visible literal return of Jesus Christ that we have come to in our study of the book of Revelation. If you have your Bibles turn to Revelation chapter 19, as we talk about the coming of the King. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. The Great Tribulation is filled with dramatic events, from God's judgments to Satan's demonic attacks and the rise of the Antichrist.

But all of these events are simply a prelude to something greater. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress teaches on the most important event in human history. Now here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.

Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David. And welcome again to Pathway to Victory. I'm pleased that you've joined us as we come to the final chapters in Revelation, the last book in the Bible. You know, those who typecast the book of Revelation as an allegory, or as a roadmap on biblical prophecy, you're only partially right. Because the last book of the Bible describes the unveiling of Jesus Christ in all of his glory. Yes, we learn about the last days.

And yes, we see lots of strange symbols and imagery in John's book. But in the end, Revelation is a book of triumph, glory, and victory, all pointing to the majesty of Jesus Christ. But next week, this opportunity to request my book will come to a close on the same day we complete our study in Revelation.

So while there's still time, please get in touch and let us know that you'd like to receive a copy of Final Conquest. It comes with my thanks in return for your generous gift, because it's people like you that God is using to fuel the ministry of Pathway to Victory. In addition to my commentary on Revelation, I'll also include the booklet I've written for you called Bible Prophecy Made Simple. Written in a style that's clear and practical, my booklet describes events like the Tribulation and the Millennium, and explains why they give you reason to celebrate.

Now, let's get started with the study that began on yesterday's program. I titled my message The Coming King, and we're looking at Revelation chapter 19. Let's look at the first 10 verses first in which the saints are rejoicing over the fall of Babylon. And that praise comes in the form of four hallelujahs.

First of all, verses one and two. Hallelujah for the great harlot is fallen. That great harlot, remember, is the false church during the Tribulation that for the first three and a half years will assist Antichrist in his rise to power. Secondly, there's a hallelujah for the great city is consumed. Verse three, when Babylon is destroyed, they said in heaven, hallelujah, praise be to God, for her smoke rises up forever and ever. The third, hallelujah. Hallelujah for God has vanquished evil.

He has vanquished evil forever and ever. We find that in verse four in the 24 elders and the living creatures fell down and worshiped God saying, amen, hallelujah. And finally, hallelujah for the Lord God Almighty reigns. Now, this four hallelujah chorus gives way to the final hymn in the book of Revelation. It's a hymn, a song for the lamb and his bride. Look at verse seven.

Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to him for, why? The marriage of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. And we know who the lamb is.

We've seen it over and over in Revelation. The lamb is Jesus Christ. Well, who did he get married to? Well, his bride. The bride of Jesus Christ is you and me, the church of Jesus Christ. That is the bride of Christ.

Notice verse eight. And it was given to her, that is the bride, to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. The bride is getting ready. We, the bride are in heaven with the groom. We're getting ready to come back to earth for this great celebration. And how are we going to clothe ourselves?

With bright linen. That is, if you don't know what that is, it is the righteous acts of the saints. You know, a lot of people get confused about this. They think that our works, our righteous acts don't matter to God. After all, we're saved by grace, not by works, right?

It's true. Our good works are meaningless. They are worthless to God before we're saved.

But God does care how you and I live after we're saved. And the good things we do for God, our obedience to God, it is like a white garment we put on the righteous acts of the saints. And so the church is adorning herself with those righteous acts to get ready for the wedding feast of the lamb. Now look at verse nine.

Then John said to me, write this, write this down. Blessed, literally happy, are those who were invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. Now, that sets the stage for the return of Jesus Christ. Before that wedding supper can occur, Jesus and his bride must come back to earth again.

But something has to happen before they get to earth, and that is all of the enemies of the groom and the bride have to be extinguished. And that's what we see happening at the return of Jesus Christ. Look at verse 11, the triumphal entry of the king. Now, again, let me set the stage what has been happening on earth. We've been through the seven years of the tribulation. The Antichrist through the first three and a half years rises to power. But after that first three and a half years, the Antichrist turns against Israel and he begins to persecute Israel and the group of believers who are on the earth. And those over whom the Antichrist is reigning are getting sick and tired of all of the bad things that are happening during these last three and a half years.

And they plot to overthrow the Antichrist. And so all of the forces of the world gather together in that valley of Armageddon. And so you've got this scene at Armageddon, the world forces fighting to overthrow the Antichrist. They are against one another when suddenly they look up into the sky and they see the warrior king, Jesus Christ, and his army.

And suddenly that divided human army unites together to fight against Christ. And that's where we pick up in verse 11, a description of the coming king. And I saw heaven open, John says, and behold, a white horse and he who sat upon it is called faithful and true.

That word faithful means absolutely trustworthy, true, genuine. And in righteousness, he judges and wages war for his eyes are a flame of fire, talks about his piercing judgment. And on his head are many diadems, regal crowns symbolizing his right to rule.

It was this picture that caused Matthew Brides in 1852 to write that hymn, crown him with many crowns, the lamb upon his throne. His eyes are a flame of fire and on his head are many diadems and he has a name written on him which no one knows except himself. Are you curious about what that name is that is written on him that nobody knows about himself?

Would you like to know? I don't have a clue. Nobody knows. That's why it says nobody knows except himself. We don't know what it is. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood.

It's not in his blood. It's in the blood of his adversaries on earth who are fighting him and his name is called the word of God. This is what was anticipated in Zechariah 14 verses 3 and 4 about Jesus returning to earth to the Mount of Olives, causing such a reaction that the Mount of Olives will split in two. This is the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And notice in verse 14, the description of the king's army and the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him on white horses. Who is this army from heaven that follows him? Some people say it was the angels. Maybe the tribulation saints. Maybe it was the Old Testament saints. It's the church. It is you and I.

How do I know that? That description, they were clothed in fine linen. Remember we saw earlier that the bride was making herself ready in fine linen, which is the righteous acts of the saints. Now look at a description of the warrior king in verses 15 and 16. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword so that with it he may strike down the nations.

What is that sharp sword? It's the word of God. The word of God is alive and it's active and it's sharper than any two-edged sword. God's word is what gives life to some and pronounces death upon others.

Remember the Old Testament description? God's word is like a surgeon's scalpel. It brings hurt as well as healing.

So does this two-edged sword. The word of God, it brings life to those who believe it. It brings eternal death to those who reject it.

And he will rule them with a rod of iron. I hear so many times people say, critics say, why can't you folks at First Baptist Dallas be a little more flexible? Why are you so rigid in your beliefs? Don't you realize culture is changing and the church needs to change with the culture?

No, we don't change with the culture. The Bible says thy word is established in heaven forever. God's word is like a rod of iron.

It is completely inflexible. That's what we see here. He's going to rule according to that rod of iron. And he treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty.

We saw that imagery earlier in chapter 14. He will tread the winepress of the fierce wrath of God. Remember that image of the winepress? In John's day when grapes were ripe, almost bursting forth with the juice at that point, those grapes would be put into a winepress. And the servants or slaves would get in with their bare feet and they would stomp on those grapes.

And those grapes would burst forth with the juice that would be captured in another cistern below. Well, in this image, the grapes represent unbelievers, sinners. And they are bursting forth with sin. And at God's appointed time, Jesus Christ is going to trample the grapes of wrath. He is going to bring judgment to those sinners and their blood is going to splatter forth, splatter forth like the juice from an overly ripe grape. That's the picture here. In fact, at this battle of Armageddon, the death is so great that blood will splatter up to the bridle of a horse.

That's the picture we have here. This is a fulfillment of Jude verses 14 and 15. Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment upon all and to convict all the ungodly of their ungodly deeds, which they have done in an ungodly way and all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken about him. Now in verse 17, we see the victory of the king over his enemies. Again, Jesus prophesied about this in Matthew 24, 30. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and with great glory. This brings about, there are three aspects of this victory of the king. First of all, it's referred to as the supper of God.

Now listen to me. In the book of Revelation chapter 19, there are actually two suffers that are described. The first suffer we've already talked about, the wedding supper of the Lamb. And John said, blessed, happy are those who get an invitation to that supper. But this is a different supper here. It's called the supper of God.

And that is an invitation you never want to receive in the mail. The first invitation, the invitation to the wedding supper of the Lamb is an invitation that is to be coveted. This second invitation, an invitation to the supper of God is an invitation to be dreaded. The first invitation, the Lamb of God's supper is an invitation to come and eat. The second invitation to the supper of God is an invitation to come and be eaten.

You'll see what I mean here. This is a supper of judgment. Verse 17 and 18, then I saw an angel standing in the sun and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in mid heaven, come and assemble for the great supper of God.

So that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit upon them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves of small and great. You know, the single day of battle in which the most lives were lost in American history, I read this week, was September 17th, 1862, the Battle of Antietam during the Civil War. Over 3,600 soldiers were killed in that battle. As devastating as that was, it is a drop in the bucket compared to what's going to happen at Armageddon.

There are going to be millions upon millions of people who will be slaughtered on that day. Do you remember some of the pictures coming out of New York City during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic? There were bodies. There were so many bodies, they couldn't take care of the bodies. The funeral homes couldn't take care of them. Those bodies were everywhere. They were in trucks.

They were being stored. There were too many bodies to deal with. It will be that way at Armageddon. Bodies will be left in the battlefield for the birds to eat. We know right now that there are millions of predatory birds that migrate in the spring from Africa to Europe, and their migration path takes them over the land of Israel. It's very easy to see how those predatory birds could be instruments of God, to pick at the flesh, to gorge themselves with the flesh of those who are destroyed at this great, great battle. That is the great supper of God. Notice, secondly, the judgment of the beast and the false prophet. Verse 19, and I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Christ who sat upon the horse and against his army. And the beast, the antichrist, was seized and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence by which he received those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. And these two, that is the antichrist and false prophet, were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.

This is the first mention of the lake of fire in the book of Revelation. It is the eternal place of torment for those who die apart from Christ. You see, right now, if you're an unbeliever and you die without receiving Jesus Christ as your savior, you go to a place the Bible calls Hades.

Jesus talked about it in Luke 16. It's an awful place. It's a place of suffering, but it's a temporary place as well.

And it's a temporary place as well. Every unbeliever who has ever lived is right now in Hades awaiting his final trial at the great white throne judgment and his final sentence which will be to be thrown into the lake of fire, to be tormented day and night forever and ever. The first two occupants of that lake of fire will be the beast and the false prophet. And we'll find after Revelation 20, 1,000 years of millennium, the reign of Christ, at the end of those 1,000 years, Satan will be cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20, 10 says, the great dragon Satan will be cast in the lake of fire for the beast and the false prophet are. To me, that's fascinating because Satan doesn't enter that lake of fire until 1,000 years later. And yet 1,000 years later, when Satan is dispatched into the lake of fire, it says the beast and the false prophet are still there. It doesn't say they were there.

They are there, meaning they are still alive. And that is the awful truth about hell, the final judgment place of the unsaved. A person who goes to hell isn't just destroyed.

They continue to suffer, to be tormented day and night forever and ever. And if you don't like that, if you think that's wrong or unfair, your problem is with the word of God. That's exactly what God says. God never meant for human beings to occupy the lake of fire.

It was designed for the devil, his angels, for the beast and the false prophet. But those who reject the grace, the forgiveness of God will spend eternity there as well. And then we see this final word in verse 21 about the sword of Christ, and the rest were killed with a sword which came from the mouth of him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. This is the future that awaits those who die apart from Christ Jesus.

But what about the here and now? I close with this, perhaps the best-known verse in the entire Bible by Christians and non-Christians alike is John 3.16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in, trusts in, claims to him, will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through him might be saved.

People misinterpret that. They say, oh, you see, pastor, Jesus isn't a judge. No, he didn't come to judge the world the first time. He didn't come into the world the first time to judge the world. He came as Savior to save the world. He didn't come the first time to judge.

He came to save. And John goes on to explain, for he who believes in him is not judged, but he who does not believe has been judged already, because he does not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God. You see, a lot of people think when we're born into this world, we're born spiritually neutral, and when we die, you know, it's kind of a crapshoot whether we go to heaven or hell, depending on how nice we are while here on planet earth. No, when we enter this world, we enter alienated from God.

We are like prisoners on death row, awaiting our final execution. But Jesus Christ came that first time to be our Savior, to offer us a pardon from our sins, a stay of execution, if you will, if we'll accept his forgiveness. He came the first time to be our Savior. But if we leave this world without receiving that pardon from sin, we will face him one day as our judge, just as those will at the end time when they see him coming and riding on that great white horse. The second coming of Jesus Christ will be the worst day of your life, if you have to face him as your judge. But the second coming of Jesus Christ will be the best day of your life, if you receive his forgiveness now, and when you see him, know that is the first day of the great future he has planned for you.

The choice, of course, is entirely yours. But as the Bible says, today is the day of salvation. And it's my prayer that you will take your first steps toward Jesus Christ as the pardon for your sins. Well, we've been on an adventure since the first Monday of October, when our study in the book of Revelation started. And next week, we'll conclude this teaching series called Final Conquest. With this deadline coming, I'm urging you to call, write, or go online to ptv.org to request a copy of my commentary on Revelation called Final Conquest. My book includes an in-depth examination of the events that culminate in the return of Jesus Christ. Along the way, I'll help you understand the mysterious symbols used throughout the book of Revelation, what they mean, and why we should take them seriously. Plus, I'll show you why Revelation gives Christians a major reason to celebrate, because in the end, God and his people are victorious.

I'll ask you to be generous when you make your request. This is a large volume, and it represents decades of personal study, all packed into one single commentary. Again, the title of my book is Final Conquest, and it's yours when you include a generous gift to support the growing ministry of Pathway to Victory. In closing, let me thank our Pathway partners and all those who give to Pathway to Victory. Our program would never leave the city limits of Dallas without partners like you. And because of the army of faithful friends God has brought to us, Pathway to Victory impacts the entire globe. So thank you and keep up the good work. Together, we are piercing the darkness with the light of God's word.

David. Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. Today, when you give a generous gift to Pathway to Victory, you're invited to request a copy of Final Conquest, a verse-by-verse commentary on the book of Revelation by Dr. Robert Jeffress. Simply call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org.

And when your gift is $75 or more, we'll also send you the complete CD and DVD teaching sets for this month's series on the book of Revelation titled Final Conquest. To request these resources, simply call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. Now you could send your request by mail if you'd like. Just write to P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas 75222. Again, that's P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins. Ever since the fall of man, Satan has enjoyed a measure of power and dominion over this earth. But during the last days, Satan will be vanquished and Christ will return to establish His kingdom. Hear a message called The Coming Kingdom Friday on Pathway to Victory.

Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. Embark on the spiritual journey of a lifetime on the Pathway to Victory Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise, May 5 through 16, 2025. Enjoy 11 days of fellowship, relaxation and spiritual refreshment while sailing aboard a luxury cruise ship.

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