So, here’s the scene. You go home
after church tonight and change into your pj’s, pop some popcorn and sit down
on the couch and turn on the TV. You scroll through the stations until
you see a movie you would like to watch. It’s just coming on so this is
perfect. And it turns out to be really interesting. You are glued
to the tube, sitting on the edge of your seat. It’s the guy in the white
hat against the guy in the black hat.
Through the whole movie, the guy in the
white hat has protected the pretty yellow-haired girl who, in return has made
goo goo eyes at him back. He has made good choices even when they were
difficult. He has remained honorable through the whole show. All
the while Mr. Black Hat has schemed and stolen and lied and been basically a
big ol’ meanie-head. And now it’s high noon and time for the showdown.
White hat walks out of the general store
with the yellow-haired girl watching nervously through the window. Black
hat walks out of the saloon with a bottle of whiskey. They start to walk
towards each other with that suspenseful piano music playing in the background.
And all the sudden Mr. Black Hat pulls his six-gun and shoots Mr. White Hat
right in the heart. He grabs the girl and rides off on his horse.
The end.
How do you like that story? Pretty
horrible, huh? Nobody makes a movie like that. Nobody wants to see
the good guy lose the girl, much less get killed. What kind of justice is
that? It’s also why I don’t want to watch “Ol’ Yeller” ever again.
I’ll get misty-eyed just thinking about what happens to poor Yeller. I
don’t want to see that stuff. Everybody roots for the good guy,
right? But now the good guy is dead and there is no way anything good can
come from it.
Well, that is exactly how the disciples
felt in John chapter 21. Listen as I read starting in verse 2.
“Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the
sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m
going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.”
So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.”
Let me stop there and just
say this was a bad time for the disciples. They had watched Jesus die on
the cross and now He was gone and there was nothing else for them to do but what
they had done before they had even met Him. They went fishing. But
now they couldn’t even catch any fish. This was just the worst. All
their lives they had been reading that Old Testament script about how the guy
in the white hat was going to come and save them and then He did come but now
He is dead.
But what they didn’t know
was that it was the end of the movie but not the end of the story. There
was a sequel coming soon. If it were a movie sequel they would be able to
see that the guy in the white hat had been shot but the bullet was stopped by a
Bible in his shirt pocket. He gets up off the ground, finds the guy in
the black hat, fights him and kills him and then takes the girl home and
marries her and lives happily ever after.
And what is even better is
that the disciples and all of us believers through the ages will have a part in
the movie. Did you know that? You are going to be a part of the
greatest epic that ever happens in the history of the world. And the name
of that sequel…is “The Second Coming.” Let’s turn to the book of Revelation
to see a trailer for that show. And our narrator for this epic is the Apostle
John, one of those who just happened to be with Peter when he went fishing.
Revelation 19:11-21 is
the screenplay for how this show goes. But I’ll warn you. This is
not rated G. It has violence and mature themes. Let’s read
it. I saw heaven standing open and there
before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and
True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His
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. 13 He
is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of
God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him,
riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and
clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is 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. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has
this name written: king of kings and lord
of lords. 17 And I saw an angel standing in the
sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in
midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so
that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and
their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and
small.” 19 Then I saw the beast and the
kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against
the rider on the horse and his army. 20 But
the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed
the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those
who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The
two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 The
rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on
the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
Now that’s how a story ought to end, right? We have
looked at the Rapture where Jesus snatches up His church in the air, in the
twinkling of an eye. And for some people that would be enough. It
would be enough that God takes all of His children to Heaven and just leaves
Satan on earth with his minions to run wild. But for all of you that
crave justice, that wouldn’t be enough.
And we know that God is just. We have all heard Romans
12:19 that says, “Beloved,
never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written,
“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Well here you go. Here’s justice. Our setting
is the Battle of Armageddon at the end of the Tribulation. I once heard
an end-times specialist talk about how things were going to end and how he closed
his talk was to say, “If you want clues as to when it is coming, keep your eye
on Israel.”
Here we have nations all over the world coming together
to battle Israel and each other. But in the middle of their fighting,
they won’t miss what happens as Jesus comes back to earth to finish the
fight. And when He does He will come back visibly. He will come
back victoriously. And He will come back with vengeance. Let’s look
again at verse 13. It says who is coming back. His name is
the Word of God.
This isn’t the first time John calls Jesus the
Word. He starts his gospel with those words. In John 1:1 he
says, “In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God and the word was with God.” He says in verse 12 of Rev. 19 that His eyes are
like blazing fire which symbolizes His all-seeing, all-knowing, all-revealing
sight. He has on His head many crowns. In fact, He has every
crown. He is the King of the universe, the King of Zion, which is Israel,
the King of every believer, the King and Husband of the church. He is the
King of kings.
He will not be mistaken or missed. He is coming
visibly with His robe dipped in blood; the blood He shed for us on the cross by
which He offers us salvation; the blood of the believers which He is coming to avenge
and the blood of His enemies which is as good as spilled right there on the
battlefield. All of which stains His robe royal red like the King that He
is.
And He will come visibly riding a white horse. This
is not the colt on which He rode into Jerusalem the last time as one riding in
peace. This is a horse ridden in victory and He rides in holiness and
purity. And it says He rides it to make war. What a horrible
thought to be an enemy of God at this last day. Isaiah 2:19 says, “People will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes
in the ground from the fearful presence of the LORD and the splendor of his
majesty, when he rises to shake the earth.”
He will come visibly and He will come
victoriously. Look at verse 14. It says, “The
armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine
linen, white and clean.” Who
are the armies of Heaven? Well, there may be angels involved in this
battle but John sees us. He is talking about all the believers riding
behind Jesus on white horses too. But look how we are dressed. In
fine linen, white and clean. Jesus has blood all over His but ours are
spotless.
Now, I would like to think I was going to be riding that
white horse into battle like John Wayne with the reins in my teeth and a sword
in one hand and a machine gun in the other, blasting away at the bad guys with
a bazooka and RPG’s but that’s not how it happens. I said earlier that we
will play a part in this epic but we are pretty much just extras at this point.
Jesus is the victor. We are on His side but Jesus
is the great warrior. And look at verse 15 to see His weapon of
choice. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword
with which to strike down the nations. Yes, the same Jesus Who was present at creation and
spoke the universe into being and populated it with water, mountains, animals
and even people just by speaking will end it all with His mouth.
When the U.S. attacked Iraq they said it would be shock
and awe. And it was pretty impressive. But when the enemies of God
look up and prepare to fight against the Lord, they will be shocked but I don’t
know if they will have time to be awed because it will not last long.
Jesus doesn’t need our help. He doesn’t need the help of the
angels.
We say often around here that “God’s got this.”
When you are scared, don’t worry. God’s got this. When your month
exceeds your money, don’t worry. God’s got this. When your world
seems to be crashing down around you, let not your hearts be troubled, be still
and know He is God…God’s got this. We say that because the same God that
has plenty of power to overthrow all the powers of hell and every army on the
planet all at the same time has all the power necessary to take care of you on
this side of Heaven as well as the other side.
He is coming visibly. He is coming
victoriously. And He is coming with vengeance.
A despondent woman was walking along
the beach when she saw a bottle on the sand. She picked it up and pulled out
the cork. Whoosh! A big puff of smoke appeared. "You have released me from
my prison," the genie told her. "To show my thanks, I grant you three
wishes. But take care, for with each wish, your spouse will receive double of
whatever you request." "Why?" the woman asked. "That
bum left me for another woman." "That is how it is
written," replied the genie. The woman shrugged and then asked for a
million dollars. There was a flash of light, and a million dollars appeared at
her feet. At the same instant, in a far-off place, her wayward husband looked
down to see twice that amount at his feet. "And your second
wish?" "Genie, I want the world's most expensive diamond
necklace." Another flash of light, and the woman was holding the precious
treasure. And, in that distant place, her husband was looking for a gem broker
to buy his latest bonanza. "Genie, is it really true that my husband
has two million dollars and more jewels than I do, and that he gets double of
whatever I wish for?" The genie said it was indeed true. "Okay,
genie, I'm ready for my last wish," the woman said. "Scare me half
to death." (Sermonillustrations.com)
Vengeance! I saw an anonymous quote that said, “The divine wrath is slow indeed in vengeance, but it makes up for its tardiness by the severity of the punishment.” The severity of God’s vengeance cannot be overstated here. Because unless you are a bird, this day is going to end badly for you. The first coming of Jesus brought forgiveness and grace but the second time He comes, He is coming to bring judgment and He is bringing it with a vengeance.
I told you this was not rated G. It’s pretty graphic here. In verse 15 he says, “He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.” John also talks about seeing a winepress in chapter 14 of Revelation. There he sees “The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse's bridle.” NLT
He is comparing the
wrath of God to a winepress where the blood flows like wine for 180 miles,
which is about half the length of Israel. So, why is Jesus so mad?
Why does He have to kill everybody and do it in a way that is so
gruesome? Is it because of how they treated Him at the cross? Is
this for spitting on Him and pulling out His beard and whipping Him nearly to
death before nailing His hands and feet to the cross while He hung there naked
until He died?
Is this just about
getting revenge? Is He saying, “Boy, you really messed with the wrong
guy this time!”? I can answer those questions with an emphatic,
“No!” No! Because is any of that really any worse than any sin
I have committed? When I make the choice to lie, steal, gossip, lust or
even worry, is that not the same thing as shaking my fist in the face of
Almighty God and swearing that I know better than He does?
Every time I sin it is
an offense to God. It is one more thing holding Jesus on that
cross. I might as well be holding the hammer that drove the nails into
His precious hands every time I sin. But do you know what? He has
forgiven me. He has forgiven you, too, when you accepted Him and His
forgiveness. And He would have forgiven any one of those who beat Him or
mocked Him or killed Him if they had just repented and asked.
No, that is not why Jesus is so angry at His Second Coming. His righteous anger burns for those who willfully rejected Him. And they didn’t just do it once. It was their lifestyle; their ongoing attitude of rebellion – a stubborn way of life that continually resists, rejects and insults the One who came to earth to die for them so He could provide the way for them to have eternal life with Him in Heaven.
But they rejected Him having been warned over and over and over again. They wanted to live their own life. They wanted to live life their own way and so God makes good on His warning and gives them what they have been asking for. As believers and followers of Jesus we do not get what we deserve. We get grace and mercy. Unbelievers get justice.
Do you remember that passage in John 21 that I started reading earlier where the disciples had gone fishing but didn’t catch anything? Let me read a little bit more. Starting in verse 4. “Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. 6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish.”
I love that story! Can you imagine how Peter must
have felt? Can you imagine the grief, the shame that he was carrying
around, knowing that he had denied Jesus 3 times and then abandoned Him?
But now Peter sees Him again and He is alive and he can’t wait to row to shore.
He jumps out and swims.
He swims because Peter knows that on that shore is
forgiveness. He knows that on that shore is the end of his guilt and
shame and the beginning of an abundant life here on earth and he knows he is
not guaranteed another breath and so he gets to Jesus as fast as he can.
And that’s just what Jesus was waiting for.
And
that is what He is waiting for you to do today as well. Why let your
pride stop you any longer? How has that worked out for you so far
anyway? Do it today. Ask Jesus to be Lord of your life and to
forgive you of your sins and change your life for all of eternity. That’s
what He is waiting for.
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