Behold He Comes

BEHOLD HE COMES

Rev.19: 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.

¹² His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
¹³ And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
¹⁴ And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
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.
¹⁶ And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.

II Thess.1: ⁷ And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

⁸ In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
⁹ Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

I am one who embraces and preaches the grace of God through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that it is simple to believe on Christ and also simple to miss it. The current atmosphere in the evangelical world is filled with all kinds of heresies and compromises and faith without works. The Spirit is still drawing sinners to Christ, but it is obvious that the time is short. The end of all things is very near. And when that last sinner is redeemed, and when the Lord of Glory decides the time is right, then something will happen that seems like religious folklore and a fairy tale based upon superstition. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Jesus is Lord and Savior and Redeemer. In this age we are called to spread the gospel by the power of His Word as well as be conformed to His image in our lives. The door to the ark of redemption is still wide open for whosoever will believe. Even though the church as a whole continues to grow colder to the things of Christ even to the point of apostasy, there are still sinners being born again. The Lord knows those who are His.

But there is a day that is approaching which will bring a wrath upon this world unlike anything ever imagined. The Redeemer will come as the Judge. The Book of the Revelation is filled with many horrific prophetic scenes. I do not profess to know all the chronologies concerning the events portrayed literally and by imagery, but the overall picture of the future of the world is dreadful to say the least. You can spend your time mapping out the prophetic calendar or unpacking in detail what some of the symbolic language actually means, but I suggest that the events that are on their way are profoundly dire.

But at the end of all the judgments that befall the human race will be the literal and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ. You may argue whether the white horse is literal or symbolic but that misses the essence of His return. You do not have to rely on filling in the metaphorical images to understand the open and literal revelation about why He is coming and what He will do. And that is what I would like to address in this post.

The modern church has all but ignored this teaching along with many others. Paul as well as John provide some apocalyptic language which presents us with what should be startling truths. But since it is rarely addressed, and when it is it is usually taught in some innocuous prophetic timeline, we have lost any real sense of fear and foreboding. In fact millions of people talk about hoping Jesus will return as if they were speaking of looking for Santa Claus at Christmas. They are massively ignorant of the Biblical revelation concerning His second coming. Yes, He will eventually bring peace, but before that peace will come a divine wrath which will dwarf any wars ever witnessed upon this earth.

But the church has hid its face from this disturbing truth. We have made Jesus a divine Santa Claus and by and large refused to give a clear warning about His return. This is no time for sentimentality about fellowshipping with relatives in heaven. If these are the last days then we are very close to standing before our Redeemer and giving an account of our lives. And we are very close to seeing Him come with a fiery wrath which will devour multitudes still alive upon this earth. You do not believe in a God like that? Well then you should print your own Bible and distribute it to those who desire to hear only good things. Come to think of it that is what most of the church does with the Bible they now have.

But in the writings of Paul and John and others we see a vision of Jesus that has been laid dormant in these last days. Jesus will come in a blaze of glory so powerful that it will consume anything and everything in its path. Perhaps your god does not fit that description and if that is so then you god is not Jesus Christ. I do not relish the coming wrath, in fact it disturbs me. I realize that I have been rescued from God’s wrath because Christ endured it in my place, however the vision of the Lord of Lords coming in vengeance is still unsettling to say the least. As the old saying goes, “I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy”.

I do not subscribe to the fire and brimstone being constantly shoved down people’s throats. However I do believe the church no longer warns people with any semblance of passion and urgency. And because there is almost no sense of impending wrath the church remains like a happy baby sitting in the midst of a mountain of candy. If the Scriptures are not true and just some religious folklore then no one should worry at all. Let us eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.

But if the Scriptures are the authentic revelation of all eternal truth, and if Jesus will return with flaming fire and executing divine justice upon all who have not been His believing followers, well then, it might be wise to at least mention it. In fact it would be very wise to preach it with such passion and conviction that the Spirit can actually warn people.