THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST
(THE ADVENT)
Revelation 19:11-16
Introduction:
Jesus is coming again, Titus 2:3, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”
We have already considered the Rapture or the First Phase of the coming of the Lord. The Rapture is the Coming of the Lord Jesus as a thief in the night, 1 Thessalonians 5:2, “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” Only the believer shall see Him. On the other hand, the ADVENT or the Second Coming of Christ to the earth shall be seen by all men, Revelation 1:7, “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.”
I. THE COMING OF JESUS CHRIST, Revelation 19:11-16.
A. His Coming this time will be DIFFERENT.
1. He is no longer riding a donkey, but now a white horse, v. 11, “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.”
2. His eyes are NOT filled with tears as when He beheld Jerusalem, v.12, “His eyes were as a flame of fire,”
3. He is not wearing a mocker’s crown, but a diadem, v. 12, “and on his head were many crowns;”
4. He will not be stripped by His enemies, but will be robed in a garment dipped in blood, v.13, “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood:”
5. He is not abandoned by His followers, but is accompanied by the armies of Heaven, v. 14, “And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”
6. His mouth does not speak words of grace, but rather the Word of victory and justice, v. 15a, “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations:”
7. He comes with a rod of iron, Psalm 2:9, “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
8. He comes, not to bear the wrath of God on the cross, but to tread down the winepress of the wrath of God at the battle of Armageddon, v. 15b, “and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”
B. His Coming will be Premillennial.
1. His coming is at the end of the Tribulation period.
2. His coming is to establish His reign as King of kings and Lord of lords on the earth for a thousand years, v. 16, “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
II. THE CONFLICT WITH THE ANTICHRIST, Revelation 19:17-18.
A. The Apostle John’s vision:
1. He sees an unimaginable catastrophe.
a. Death and carnage on every hand.
b. The whole earth is bathed in blood.
2. World history ends in war and desolation.
B. Armageddon, Revelation 16:16, “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”
1. The valley of Megiddo has been a battle ground many times:
a. Barak and Deborah fought against Sisera there, Judges 4.
b. Gideon fought against the Midianites there, Judges 7.
c. Saul was slain by the Philistines there, 1 Samuel 31.
d. Pharaoh Necho slew good King Josiah there, 2 Chronicles 35.
e. Jeremiah lamented over the armies of Josiah there, 2 Chronicles 35:25.
2. All of those were just a dress rehearsal for the greatest conflict of all time.
C. With Almighty Power God invites the carnivorous beast to come to the assured destruction of God’s enemies, vs. 17-18, “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; 18-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.”
III. THE CRUSHING OF THE ANTICHRIST, Revelation 19:19-21.
A. The Antichrist gathers his armies against the Lord, v. 19, “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.”
B. The battle is over in an instant, vs. 20-21, “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. 21-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.”
1. There is no power against the Word of God, Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
2. The Antichrist and the False Prophet are cast into the Lake of fire, v. 20, “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.”
CONCLUSION
When those who have rejected Jesus Christ stand before God, their judgment will be over in an instant. They will have no excuse and nothing to say because the Lord has the evidence before Him. Just as this war was over in an instant through the power of the Word of God the judgment will be over as well. It will be decisive and final.