[Lesson 87: The Holy Spirit Has Come] [Table of Contents] [Lesson 89: The Good News]

Lesson 88

Jesus Is Coming Back!

Revelation 19-22

Peace be with you, listening friends. We greet you in the name of God, the Lord of peace, who wants everyone to understand and submit to the way of righteousness that He has established, and have true peace with Him forever. We are happy to be able to return today to present your program The Way of Righteousness.

We have come today to the 88^th lesson in our chronological study of God's Word. As we have seen, over several hundred years, the Spirit of God inspired more than thirty prophets to write the first part of the Holy Scriptures, that is, the Torah, the Psalms, and the books of the prophets. That first part of God's Book is called the Old Testament. In that part, all the prophets shared one message, telling us that God is holy and righteous and therefore must judge every sin. However, God is also full of mercy and does not want the children of Adam to perish in their sin. Thus we saw how God, through His prophets, promised to send a Redeemer, the holy Messiah, who would be born of a virgin, live a holy life and then shed His blood on a cross to pay for the sins of the children of Adam. All the prophets of the Old Testament wrote about this Messiah who was to come.

In the second part of the Holy Scriptures, the New Testament, the Book of the Gospel, we saw that, when the time which God planned had come, He sent forth the Messiah, the Savior of the world, just as He had promised through His prophets. The Messiah was Jesus of Nazareth--the only perfectly holy Person who ever lived. Jesus was full of the power of God, because He was the very Word of God in a human body. Of Him God declared, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased!" (Matt. 3:17) However, our fellow humans killed the holy One of God by nailing Him to a cross. But God raised Him to life on the third day. After Jesus was seen by many witnesses, God exalted Him to the highest place in heaven. But the story doesn't end there.

The wonderful story of God's righteous way of salvation has a beginning and an ending; a head and a tail. This evil world has not yet seen the last of Jesus the Messiah! The Word of God tells us that the Lord Jesus is going to come back to cast Satan and his evil angels into the lake of fire, to judge the children of Adam on Judgment Day, and to recreate this old world. Our lesson today is called "Jesus is coming back!"

We will be reading from the final section of the New Testament, from the book called Revelation. Revelation is a profound and powerful book, because it announces what will happen at the end of time, when this present world will come to an end. The book of Revelation has twenty-two chapters, chapters which proclaim a glorious victory for all who believe. But for those who do not believe, these chapters contain great terror, because the book of Revelation reveals that if you refuse to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, He will, in the end, be your Judge! If you do not accept the Lamb of God, you will meet the Lion of God, because the Lord Jesus, who died as a sacrificial lamb to take away sin, will return as a mighty lion to judge! That is what the Scriptures speak of when they say: "The Lord Jesus [Christ will be] revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus!" (2 Thes. 1:7,8)

Now, let us listen carefully to the excerpts taken from the book of Revelation. After the Lord Jesus had returned to heaven, He sent His angel to the apostle John, to reveal to him the events that will take place at the end of the world. In the first chapter, John wrote:

(Rev. 1) ¹The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ²who testifies to everything he saw-that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. ³Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. ⁴I, John, write to you…Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne…To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father-to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. ⁷Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen. ⁸"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

In chapter nineteen, John wrote:

(Rev. 19) ¹After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, ²for true and just are his judgments… ⁶Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. [The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever! (11:15)]

¹¹I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. ¹²His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. ¹³He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

(Rev. 20) ¹And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. ²He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. ³He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. ⁴I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God.…They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

⁷When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth…to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. ⁹They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever!

¹¹Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ¹²And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. ¹⁴Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire!

(Rev. 21) ¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.… ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." ⁵He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." ⁶He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. ⁷He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. ⁸But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death."

(Rev. 22) ¹Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ²down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month… ³No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. ⁶The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place."

[I, Jesus, I say unto you:] ¹²…"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. ¹³I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. ¹⁴Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. ¹⁵Outside are…[those who love and practice] falsehood. ¹⁶I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star." ¹⁷The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life!"

¹⁸I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. ¹⁹And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. ²⁰He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. ²¹The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people.

Thus, God concludes His marvelous Book, and promises that the Lord Jesus, whom the children of Adam nailed to a cross, will one day come back to earth. He will return to take those who believe Him to be with Him, and to judge those who do not believe Him! Dear friend, are you confident as you face the return of the Lord Jesus from heaven? Are you among those who have received Him as their Savior and Lord? Do you believe in your heart that God laid your sins on the Lord Jesus Christ, who never sinned, so that through Him, God can declare you righteous? Is your name written in the Book of Life? What is your relationship with Jesus Christ? Is He your Savior? Or will He be your Judge?

Are you ready for Christ's return? If you hear God's voice today, do not harden your heart, because the Scripture says:

"With the Lord…a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare!" (2 Pet. 3:8,9) "Now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation!" (2 Cor. 6:2) "We who have heard of this, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" (Heb. 2:3)

Dear friends, thank you for listening so attentively. Our prayer to God is that every word that you have heard on The Way of Righteousness will be a blessing springing up in your life-leading you to God's "great salvation" which He freely gives to all who truly believe His Word. If you would like to have the entire book of the Gospel {Injil} from which we have read today, write to us.…

Until next time, God bless you as you remember Jesus' final words in the Holy Scriptures. The Lord Jesus Christ said:

"Yes, I am coming soon!" (Rev 22:20)