The Final Battle Series

OPEN: Several years ago Johnny Carson had Billy Graham as a guest on his show. At one point there was a lull in the conversation and Johnny said, "You know what Billy, I bet if Jesus ever came back to earth, I bet we’d do him in again!"

Billy Graham leaned forward in his seat, and said,

"In the Bible we read that Jesus predicted that He would return to earth again. But the first time He came in love. The next time, He’ll come in power - and no one will DO Him in!"

Jesus is coming again!

And when He comes the 2nd time, He’ll be coming in power.

And He’ll come prepared for war

The Apostle John – in Revelation 19 - describes it this way:

“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 makes war. 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. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.

The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron sceptre.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.

On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelation 19:11-16

ILLUS: My kids are reading their way through Revelation this year. I take each of them out for a special breakfast at the restaurant of their choice (Jonathan’s is McDonalds and Naomi likes Arbys), and this past week, as Naomi was reading out of chapter 6 which talked about the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse and all the devastation they would bring, I asked Naomi what she’d read.

She made a very astute observation: “When Jesus comes – you want to be on His side.”

You don’t want to be on the wrong side of the battle when Jesus comes the 2nd time.

Because Jesus is coming again!

And when He comes, He’ll come in power. And no one will DO Him in!

It’s a repeated theme throughout the Bible: Jesus is coming again.

In Matthew 26:64 Jesus told the High Priest and Sanhedrin:

“I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."

Jude tells us "The Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Jude 14 & 15

And Paul tells Timothy: “I charge [you] therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom” 2 Timothy 4:1

When Jesus comes again, He’s coming in power.

He’s coming with 1000s upon 1000s of angels.

And He’s coming in judgment.

In fact, II Peter 3 tells us that when He comes “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 Peter 3:10

Everything will be destroyed.

This world that we know is being “reserved for fire being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3:7

When Jesus comes again – you want to be on His side.

But there are people who don’t believe this is going to happen.

And II Peter says as much.

In verses 3 & 4 we’re told “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 2 Peter 3:3-4

ILLUS: Several years ago, a survey was taken of some of the Bible Seminaries in America. What they found was devastating: only 3% of graduates from those seminaries believed that Jesus was coming back.

Graduates of Bible College Seminaries?

Why on earth would they reject something that’s such an obvious teaching out of Scripture?

Well, because in the Seminaries that they attended, the teachers were evil men. Those teachers had no faith in God’s Word. When they taught, they scoffed at God’s promises and destroyed the faith of their students.