Dressed For The Second Coming Series

Paul Harvey in, For What It's Worth tells of how Ann Connolly used modern technology to foil

a crime. She was in Red Food Store in Knoxsville, Tenn. When a man snatched her purse from

her cart. She is a real estate broker and has a talk back beeper device in her purse. She ran to the

manager's office and dialed herself. Then she spoke into the phone knowing her voice would be

transmitted through the beeper in her purse. The produce manager said, "You should have seen

that surprised man standing there with a talking purse." The voice was saying, "Take this purse to

the manger's office immediately." It spoke with such authority that he did it.

This example of the power of the voice dims like a candle before the noon day sun when

compared with the voice of Jesus. In John 5 Jesus gives two examples of the power of His voice.

In verse 25 he says, "I tell you the truth, a time is coming, and has now come when the dead will

hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live." You would think that would be

the ultimate in the power of the voice, but Jesus was referring here to hearing the Gospel, and

being saved from spiritual death to life. This is going on all over the world everyday. But Jesus

goes on in verses 28-29 to reveal a day when His voice will be more powerful than all the energy

in the universe, for it will accomplish the supreme miracle. He says, "Do not be amazed at this,

for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out-those who

have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned."

Every human being who has ever lived and died will be awakened by the voice of the Son of

God. Lazarus came forth when Jesus shouted, and this dead friend of Jesus walked out of the

tomb. When Jesus comes again He will say, "Everyone come forth," and all the dead, both good

and evil, will come back to life to face reward or judgment. Even Hollywood with all of its

spectacular special effects would not be able to match this grand finale of the Lord's miracles.

Contrary to those who say, "When you are dead you are dead forever," Jesus says,

"Nobody is dead forever," for all the dead will be compelled by His voice to rise and live.

The Second Coming of Christ will be the greatest demonstration ever of His Lordship over all.

He was despised and rejected in His first coming, but in His Second Coming He will be King of

Kings and Lord of Lords, and the first true ruler of the whole world. The world is the field, and

the farmer makes two visits to his field. The first time he plows the soil and plants the seed. That

is what Jesus did in His first coming. Then the farmer comes again to reap the harvest, and that is

what Christ will do when He comes again. The analogy breaks down, however, for farmers go

back several times to spray and weed, but Jesus said to His disciples, "Let the tares grow with the

wheat till the harvest." Jesus only comes to His field twice in bodily form. He comes often in

spirit, for where two or three are gathered in His name He will be there. We want to focus our

attention on His second bodily appearing for all mankind.

David Koresh by his fanatical focus on end times has propelled the vocabulary of the Second

Coming events into the media so that words like Armageddon and Apocalypse are in every paper

and magazine. Fanatics have, all through history, caused by their fanaticism the view that only

Christian weirdoes, out in left field, are into the study of end time themes. The fact is, the New

Testament refers to the Second Coming over 300 times, and the early church from the start had

this as a major focus.

John Wesley White, a partner evangelist with Billy Graham, in his book Re-entry II quotes the

great Alexander Maclaren, "The primitive church thought more about the Second Coming of Jesus

Christ than about death or about heaven. They were not looking for a cleft in the ground called a

grave, but for a cleavage in the sky called glory. They were not watching for the "Undertaker,"

but for the "Uppertaker." White goes on to add, "In other words, they were not druggies looking

for a cocaine high. They were believers looking for Christ from on high. They were not gamblers

waiting at the Hialeah Course. They were Christians listening for the Hallelujah Chorus." Jesus