THE COMING OF THE LORD
1st Thessalonians 4:13-18, (This is Saint Paul’s letter to the Christians) “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.”
1st Corinthians 15:50-53, (Another letter of Paul to believers at Corinth.)”I declare to you, brothers that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.”
Matthew 24:36-42, (Jesus said) “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”
2nd Thessalonians 2:1-12, (This is Paul’s second letter to the Church at Thessalonica) “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple proclaiming himself to be God. Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”
Mark 13:12-26, (Jesus said) “Brother will betray brother to death, and father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you see the abomination that caused desolation standing where it does not belong – let the reader understand – then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that this will not take place in winter, because those will be days of distress unequalled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now – and never to be equaled again. If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ! Or, ‘Look, there he is! Do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect – if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time. But in those days, following that distress, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heaven.”
Rapture.
There are a lot of ministers who are confused with their interpretation of the second coming of Christ. Because of their confusion some of them no longer believe that there will be rapture of the Church. ● There will be two stages or phases in the second coming of Jesus. In Matthew chapter 24 where Jesus illustrates his second coming and in the end times, the narrative is not in a chronological order. It is like a puzzle.
First phase: Matthew 24:36-41, (Jesus said) “It is like in the days of Noah, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.” (That means normal everyday life). “Two men in the field working, one will be taken and the other left. Two women grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken one will be left.” (This is rapture in a normal day life). ● There are Churches which teaches that there is only one stage. They say that the rapture will occur in the last days. They believe that at the blast of the trumpet, all people of the world will hear it. In that case Christians will suffer the intense persecution under Antichrist. They are wrong in their interpretation. Only the dead in Christ will hear the call of God with the sound of the trumpet. During the rapture they will be raised and be caught up first to the sky. Only the true church of Christ who are still living at that time can hear the sound of the trumpet too, and with the twinkling of an eye their bodies will be changed and be raptured. The rest of the world cannot hear the trumpet nor the professing Christians who will be left behind ● Before the rapture, the world is already boiling to burst out in turmoil but the intensity of it will come in full blast after the rapture of the Church. Then this one world leader with charisma will appear.
Second phase: Matthew 24:29-31, “Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son o Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” This is not a normal day or everyday life as Mark recorded in chapter 13:24-27. Yes it will occur literally but there will be a gap or interval in this event. This does not necessarily refer to a complete breakup of the universe. It was language commonly used to describe God’s awful judgment on a fallen world. See Isaiah 13:10 / Joel 2:10,31 and Amos 8:9. First, is the judgment of God to the people who rejected Jesus Christ and then the heavenly bodies will be shaken. We will talk about that later on.
Worldwide rebellion:
2nd Thessalonians 2:3, “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.” ● Antichrist will not appear until the rebellion occurs. Some Bible Scholars interprets this as Antichrist rebellion against God, but this is not so, even though the man of sin is always in rebellion against the Almighty. This particular word “Rebellion” is worldwide rebellion against the government. It is happening now in Europe. People in Greece, in Portugal, Spain and many other countries there are in chaos. There are riots and the authorities cannot control. Why is this happening? Because there is no money to withdraw from their banks. Banks are bankrupt. Those who lived in America know that the US is in financial trouble. A lot of people are jobless. California the richest States in America per capita is financially bankrupt. If America will be in trouble financially, the whole world will be affected. There will be worldwide rebellion against the government, and that’s the time Antichrist will appear to solve the problem. ● When Hitler came to power, it was the time when Germany was financially bankrupt because they loss the First World War. People were in chaos, riots were rampant. Then Hitler through his oratorical ability, he wept as he rehearsed the past glories to come. Once again Germany would rule the world! The Roman Empire would live again, and Hitler would be its king! The people acclaimed Hitler with shouts of joy: “Hail Hitler!” By robbing other countries and grabbing the wealth of the Jews, Hitler made Germany rich. That was why he was loved by the Germans. Adolf Hitler was but a “choir boy” when compared with the dictator that will take over the world during the Tribulation. ● While the whole world is in chaos and bankrupt, the Antichrist will bailout the whole world. Where will he get the money? Satan has the power to make any man rich. ● When Jesus was tempted by the Devil, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. Satan said, ‘All this I will give you if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to Satan, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” But Jesus did not argue with Satan about giving all the Kingdoms of the world. The Lord knows that Satan can make a person rich if that person will only worship the devil. ● In Revelation 6:1 to 2, the Antichrist is seen riding in a white horse with a bow without an arrow. That means he will conquer the world without a single shot. He will conquer the world with his oratorical ability and with all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders. The frantic populace will race to proclaim this powerful, smooth-talking peace maker who will head the world as their savior. ● Do you know the history of Brunei? Brunei before was a poor country, when oil was discovered the face of Brunei instantly changed. Their Sultan provided all the citizens of Brunei free in everything from houses to commodities. At the time of Antichrist the world will be progressive. It will be in its zenith of modern technology and every one will be happy. The Sultan of Brunei is nothing compared to the Antichrist in providing people free in their living conditions. ● While, the whole world is progressive and the people are happy, for three and a half years there will be two witnesses who will oppose Antichrist. These two witnesses are Jews because olive tree represent the Jewish people in Romans chapter 11. Let us read: Revelation11:3-12, And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the lamp stands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want. ● Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, were also their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. ● It says that while their dead bodies were laid in Jerusalem all tribes and nations will gaze or see. This New Testament was written 2,000 years before television was discovered. People few years ago cannot understand that it is possible to see an event in one part of the world in an instant, but now it is in reality because of the Satellites. Modern technology is inventing now to have a television screen in the sky so all the inhabitants of the world can see an event happening in one part of the world so what has been prophesied in the Bible can be fulfilled.
Who holds back?
2nd Thessalonians 2:6, “...now you know what is holding him back, so that the Antichrist may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of the Antichrist is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.” ● Who is holding back antichrist to be revealed? “...but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.” The pronoun “he” is the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit or the restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit through the TRUE CHURCH. The Holy Spirit is described in the Old King James Version as Comforter. You can read it in John 14:16, 26, John 15:26, John 16:7. ● During the first Century until the Medieval to the Great Reformation, Christians had been tortured, burned alive but we cannot read in any account in history that the victims screamed frantically at the top of their lungs and were panicked. Why there is no record or account in any history book? It is because those who were tortured, the Holy Spirit comforted them. I believe that the Holy Spirit was like an anesthesia. But when the Holy Spirit through the True Church of Christ will be taken away or raptured, those who will be left behind be tortured without the Comforter. Imagine yourself to be strapped in an iron chair, your body, hand, feet and head clamped and the executioner will insert a device into your mouth to open it forcefully and with pliers pull your teeth one by one including all your nails. The event will be displayed through the screen on the sky. All the inhabitants of the earth can see. Your whole body will tremble violently and you will scream at the top of your lung. You wish someone will put bullet in your head or that you will be beheaded so to die an instant death. But no! You will be tortured to die a slow death. Christians who will be left behind will fear to death that is the reason why they will betray one another just to escape the tortuous death. Matthew 13:12, “Brother will betray brother to death, and father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.”
The First and Future Antichrist
The prefix “anti” comes from the Greek language and has two meanings: [1] opposed to, [2] in the place of or a substitute for. The Antichrist will embody both of these meanings. He will indeed oppose Christ, but in the most diabolically clever way it could be done: by pretending to be Christ and thus perverting “Christianity” from within. Indeed, the Antichrist will “sit in the temple of God showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4) ● If the Antichrist pretends to be Christ and is worshiped by the world (Revelation 13:8), then his followers are of course “Christians”. Not Communism but Christianity will take over the world, and not real Christianity but an Antichrist counterfeit thereof. Thus the great apostasy precedes the revelation of Antichrists (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Part of the apostasy is the ecumenical movement, which is literally setting the stage for a union between all religions and even influences evangelicals as well. Antichrist “Christianity” must be created which embraces all religions and which all religions will embrace – precisely what is occurring today with astonishing speed. ● The Latin equivalent of the Greek “anti” is “vicarious,” from which comes “vicar.” Thus “vicar of Christ” literally means Antichrist. Although the Roman Catholic popes have called themselves Vicar of Christ for centuries, they were not the first to do so, but inherited that title from Constantine. His future counterpart, the coming world ruler over the revived Roman Empire, will be the Antichrist. ● When Emperor Constantine supposedly became a Christian in A.D. 313 (really a clever political maneuver), he gave freedom of Christians as well as official status alongside paganism to the Christian church. ● While heading the Christian church, Constantine continued to head the pagan priesthood, to officiate a pagan celebrations, and to endow pagan temples even after he began to build Christian church. As head of the pagan priesthood he was the Pontifex Maximus and that’s the title of the Popes of the Roman Catholic even today. ● As the popes’ claims to absolute power over kingdoms, people, and property were realized, great corruption entered the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformers and their creeds were unanimous in identifying each pope as the Antichrist. The future Antichrist will be the new “Constantine,” the ruler of the revived world Roman Empire.
The Beast out of the Sea
Revelation 13: 1-2, And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, and with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?”
The Antichrist is called a “beast” because that’s what he is in the sight of God – a ruthless, unfeeling dictator. His true, ruthless nature is exposed in wide-screen horror in the latter part of the Tribulation period, even though at the beginning he appears to be the most wonderfully benevolent leader of all time. ● Now why does the Beast emerge from the sea? John explains the figure in Revelation 17:15. “The waters which you saw …. are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.” In Biblical usage the ocean pictures the restless strivings of the nations of the world as Isaiah put it. “The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt” (Isaiah 57:20). It’s from this chaos of the nations that the Antichrist will rise. ● What do the ten horns with crowns represent? In Biblical symbology horns almost always represent political power. In this case the Beast’s ten horns picture ten nations that will form a confederacy which the beast will rule during the Tribulation. Daniel elaborates on this in Daniel 7 and 8. ● There is the appearance of the beast. This description is a direct reference back to Daniel 7:3-8, where Daniel describes four great beasts that come up from the Great Sea. Understanding who these beasts represent is not difficult for any student of ancient history. The lion with eagle’s wings can be seen in any major museum as the symbol for Babylon; the bear was the symbol of the Medo-Persian Empire; the leopard represents the swift-conquering Alexander the Great and the Roman Empire – with which the ten horns are associated – follows and will one day be the source of the final world ruler.
The Beast out of the Earth
Revelation 13:11-18, Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. ● This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666.
Basically the second Beast will be similar to the first one. The Greek word translated “another” in verse 11 specifically means another of the same kind. He will have the same scintillating personality, the same tireless dynamism, the same oratorical cleverness as the first Beast. He will also have the same Satanic powers. ● But there will be some differences too. While the first Beast emerged from the sea (the unrest of troubled nations), the second beast emerged from the land. (“Earth” in verse 11 could just as well be translated “land”. When the Bible uses the word “land” symbolically, it usually refers to the land belongs to Israel. So the second beast will come from the region of the Middle East, and I believe he will be a Jew. ● Like the first Beast, the second one wears horns. However, the second beast has only two uncrowned horns (not ten crowned ones, as the first Antichrist). What kind of power do these two horns symbolize? Not political, since the ten federated governments of the Tribulation are pictured by the ten crowned horns of the first Beast and crowns symbolize political kingdoms. ● The second Beast wields religious power, and for that reason he is also called “the False Prophet.” He’ll amalgamate all religious systems into one counterfeit one. His two horns are like a lamb, showing that this personage will try to imitate the real Lamb, Jesus Christ.
Who can be raptured and who will be left behind?
In the eyes of the world the church is collectively an organization or a denomination. Baptist Church, the Methodist Church, the Pentecostal Church and so on. But in the eyes of God His Church is not collectively but individually. In this congregation I don’t know how many will be raptured. Maybe one or two or none at all, because there is a qualification for those who can inherit the kingdom of God and the rest who cannot be qualified will be left behind. In 1st Corinthians 5:9-13, it reads: “I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people- not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” ● Chapter 6:9 to 10: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanders nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” ● Galatians 5:19-21: “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
How important it is to preach about repentance?
The very first word that came out from Jesus’ mouth when he first preaches was “Repent” Matthew 4:17: From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. ● Luke 13:1-5: Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices, Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them – do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” ● Mark 1:14-15, After John was put in prison; Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.” Repent first and then believe the gospel.
The word ‘REPENT” is an action word it is a verb. When John the Baptist was preaching, he shouted. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2) In verses 7 to 8, “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance!” In the New Living Translation it is translated, “Prove by the way you live that you have turned from your sins and turned to God.” ● The word “BELIEVE” is also an action word. If we say that we are Christians but still all kinds of wickedness manifest in our lives, we are also “brood of snakes”, meaning children of the devil.
The wrath of God is poured out from heaven:
Revelation 16:1-10, Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.” The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died. The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. Then I heard the angel in charge of the water say: “You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were the Holy One, because you have so judged; for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.” And I heard the altar respond: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.” The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him. The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.
Revelation 9: 20-21: The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or thefts.
In Revelation 8:6 to 13 and Revelation 9:1 to 20, the trumpets and the bowls are the same. I am emphasizing here the importance of repentance because if people will not repent now, they will not repent then even if they will suffer God’s wrath.
Sermon by:
Bobby Cabonce
