Revelation 1:4-8 Behold GOD is Coming
Intro : I have two announcements
to share w/ You today I want you to Check your reaction to both of them .
A) The First is a BIRTH ANNOUCEMENT On April 13th at 8:44am Tom & Cathy Frazee became the
Proud parents of another Boy
James Matthew Frazee was came into the World weighing in
at 10lbs 1 ounce / 20inches long !!!!!
B) Now what was your reaction to that announcement BIG BABY !!! Wonderful / what a Blessing / ANOTHER BOY !!!
2ND Announcement :
Tonight at 12:00 midnight a Devastating
Tornado is going to touch down in OCSD & Rip through Vista
A) Reaction? - Oh No !!! / Need to
Prepare / Need to Plan / Id better get to the Store
B) 2nd Announcement was not True / But those two
announcements are going to generate 2 Different Reactions in the hearts of the
Hearers
C) Actually there is a 3rd Reaction
those of you who dont know Tom
&
Cathy might think
1)
That is nice but
didnt come here to hear about Babies being Born
D)And
Concerning the Tornado warning Im sure that some of you right thought away Yea right
No Tornado in Cal. / Florida
1) Your Reaction was One of UNBELIEF !!!!!!
Now here in v. 7 of Rev. Ch. 1 we
have an Announcement Behold, He is coming
with clouds,
A) That ONE announcement Generates 3 Different Reactions today depending upon your Relationship to Jesus Christ !!!!!
C)
But If you dont Know Jesus / Love / or are not walking
w/ Him / Reaction is one of TERROR NO!!! NOT TODAY NOT READY
D)
And
then there are those whos reaction is one of yea right they have been saying that for so Long Never happen
1)
I have too much to worry
about today to be concerned w/ Jesus coming Back Reaction UNBELIEF &
INDIFFERENCE
1) 2 Pet. 3 Sign of last days Scoffers will
come
Now we left off at V. 7 Which
really is the Theme of the Book BEHOLD HE IS COMING Begin today
Quick Review Back up v.4-6 Detail
A)
Book of VICTORY Note 3 things
#1 THE CHURCH WILL BE W/ HIM-
A)
3 Comings of Christ that the Bible talks about 1st just
finished studying about in Luke Came as a Man / came in Humility / give
Himself Sacrifice.
B) He came to ESTABLISH HIS CHURCH
C)
But the Bible also speaks of a Coming of Christ For His Church
1)
Jn.
14 I go
.. return
& receive you to myself
..
1 Thes. 4: 16 For the Lord Himself will
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And
thus we shall always be with the Lord.
A) This event we call the Rapture of the Church CAUGHT UP =
Harpozo in the grk = snatched away
1)
Note
We meet Him in the Clouds / not to the
earth but in the clouds / Like a Thief /
moment twinkling of an eye
A)
3rd COMING W/ HIS CHURCH
Rev.19: 11 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. 12 His eyes
were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name
written that no one knew except Himself.
13
He was clothed
with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine
linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
Here we have a
description of the 2nd coming of Christ coming to the Earth
Rapture only to the clouds
A) Notice how the Church is Dressed v.14 And the armies
in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white
horses.
C)This can be a reference to
literal clouds/ Or some believe it can
be a
reference to
PEOPLE/ The CHURCH
1)
Hebrews 12:1, in speaking of the great
men and women of
faith calls them a CLOUD of witnesses.
D) Col. 3:4 When
Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
2nd Thing to note about His Coming is Israel Will
Acknowledge Him - THEY ALSO WHO PIERCED HIM
A)
This
is a reference to the Jewish people.
(Zec 12:10 "And I will pour on the house of David
and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then
they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one
mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
B)
There will come a day when the
nation of Israel will realize what they did
when they cried out: CRUCIFY Him
1) &
cried out: His blood be upon us and upon our children.
C) We are also told in Zechariah 13:6
6
"And one will say to him, 'What are these wounds
between your arms?' Then he will answer, 'Those with which I was wounded in the
house of my friends.'
D)We are told in John 1:11 He
came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
E) He came as their Messiah and Redeemer but they
REJECTED Him and Crucifeid Him
F) But praise the Lord - He NEVER gave up on the Jews.
In fact the book of
Revelation tells us about God dealing with the Jewish nation and bringing them
back to Himself.
3rd that The World Will See Him
- EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM
A) This CAN NOT mean the
rapture because Jesus said that He would come
as a THIEF in the night.
B) Millions of believers
will be STOLEN out of the world.
1)
But
in His SECOND COMING will be seen by
all.
(Mat 24:27
"For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of
the Son of Man be.
Matthew 24:30 "Then the sign
of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth
will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Note : In His first
coming Jesus came in HUMILITY to deal with sin
A) In His 2nd COMING Jesus will come in POWER and GLORY to
deal with SINNERS
B) Every
one here this morning will be in one of two groups.
1.)
Those
described in VERSE
5 as FORGIVEN
2.)
Those
described in VERSE
7 as facing JUDGEMENT.
There is NO
other place to be.
Harry
On March 17th of
1980 a Radical thing took place in the state of Washington something that
hadnt happened in at least 123yrs
A) It started when an Earthquake registering 4.1 on the Richter scale was
reported near Mt. St. Helens in S.W Washington
B)
Forest
rangers were notified of possible dangers that could happen including the
Eruption of Mt. St. Helens Volcano
1)
Scientist
flew in from all over to access the explosive potential of the Mountain
A)
They
painted a frightening scenario of future destruction residents were warned to
evacuate /
Living on that Mt. Was an Old man named Harry He had lived there for quite some time w/ his 16 cats
A)
Harry bragged Nobody knows more about this mountain than
Harry & it dont dare blow up on him
B) When Sheriffs deputies ordered Harry to leave he
responded by saying I am having a Heck of
a time livin my life alone. Im king of all I survey, Ive got Plenty of
Whiskey Ive got food enough for 15 yrs I am setting high on the hog I am
not going anywhere
C) But then it Happened Sunday Morning March 28th
The Mountain exploded w/ a force that was 500 times greater than the Bomb that
was dropped on Hiroshima
D) Huge Rocks were sent flying landing 14 miles away /
Huge Redwood trees were Leveled
1)
The Warnings were over there was no more time to run!!!
7th
Last Jesus CLAIM TO DEITY !!! Doctrine of the Trinity
A) There are those who say that Jesus never claimed to be God.
B) Many times Jesus made
DIRECT claims to being the ONE and TRUE and
ONLY God.
1) He received worship, even
though He said that ONLY God is to be worshipped
C) He forgave sins.- HE
claimed to be I AM - the God of Israel. For that the Jews desired to crucify
Him.
Here is another
Example v.8 "I am the Alpha
and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and
who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
A) Now if you ask a Mormon or a J.W. who is speaking here they will say it
is Jehovah or God the Father
B) And
if you have them look at Isa. 41:4 Who speaking there
4
Who has performed
and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? 'I, the LORD, am the
first; And with the last I am He.'" they will answer
Isa. 44: 6
"Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD
of hosts: 'I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.
Isa. 48:12 "Listen to Me, O Jacob, And Israel, My called: I am He, I am
the First, I am also the Last.
D)Again
Jehovah
Rev. 21: 6 And He said to me, "It is done! FINISHED
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of
the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
6
"He who
overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My
son.
Ok who is talking here? Again He
will answer it is Jehovah even though it was Jesus who cried out on the Cross
It is finished
37 On the last day, that great day of the
feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come
to Me and drink.
B) Then take them to Rev.22: 12 "And behold, I
am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to
his work.
13
"I am the
Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."
C)Who is this ? Again He will answer that it is Jehovah even though verse 16 Clearly identifies the Speaker as Jesus / as does v. 20
16 "I, Jesus,
have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the
Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star."
20
He who testifies
to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so,
come, Lord Jesus!
So it is clear that Jesus is God and this message is coming from Him A) I am coming again-
A) Note
we are waiting for the Rapture Precede the 2nd coming
1)
Question that Jesus
would ask us is are you ready ? The answer will be evidenced in the way that
you are Living your Life
A) Close w/ this
Illustration: Hungary last summer / Aaron/ Amy OR.
1)
Denise & I
separated in N.Y. / 4 days & came home / I knew the day & the time
pick up in S.D.
Now I could have been in one of 3
positions concerning her return
A)
Wondering Will she I
dont know send a cab see if she shows up
B)
Or I could be Waiting
Waiting for her arrival sitting at the house pacing
C)
Or I could be Watching
& Standing at the gate watching
& ready
1)
Which do you think I
choose ? Watching at the gate I got there early I cleaned the house put
away the dishes READY
A) Not to clean though Real art to this guys
women thinks Look
how nice this place looks he doesnt need me
B) But I was ready So glad you are home So glad to see you
LISTEN IF YOUR REALLY Love the Lord
READY !!1JN 3
A) Jesus says I am coming back do you believe that
B) Wondering / waiting / or watching & ready
C) Now what if Denise called & said I am going to be Late
staying 2 more days
1) great I dont have to clean the house Yet
A)
But what if She
called & said Guess what I am
coming home earlier Lucia Picked me up Well be home in 15 minutes
1)
Wait Oh No I am
not ready
E)
Jesus says the Rapture is going to be a Surprise so Need to be ready Now!!!!
Are You?