"The King Is Coming" Series

THE KING IS COMING

Text-2nd Thessalonians 2:1-12

"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our

Lord Jesus Christ, and by our fathering together

unto him,

That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled,

neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as

from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that

day shall not come, except there come a falling

away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the

son of perdition:

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that

is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he

as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing him-

self that he is God.

Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I

told you these things?

And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be

revealed in his time.

For the mystery of iniquity doth already work:

only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken

out of the way.

And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the

Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth,

and will destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Even him, whose coming is after the working of

Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in

them that perish; because they received not the

love of the truth, that they might be saved.

And for this cause God shall send them strong

delusion, that they should believe a lie:

That they all might be damned who believed not

the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

Introduction-

Elaborate preparations are always made when the

President of the United States visits a city, or

another country.

1. First, there is a clean-up, beautification eff-

ort, to make the city look its best.

2. Then, there is also a heightening of security,

so that the President will not be endangered.

A route is planned for his travel, and an emer-

gency situation is considered. Special agents

are scattered everywhere-on the tops of buildings,

in the crowds, etc. to give maximum security.

3. Hospital preparations are made in the event of

some terrible tragedy, and doctors and medical

staff prepared for an emergency.

4. Then, meals have to be considered, and his

lodging, and other considerations.

All of this was evident to me one day when Pres-

ident George Bush came to Meridian, Mississippi.

I was in the crowd when Airforce 1 landed on the

runway. I was privilaged to meet the President,

and shake hands with him; however, I was ever

conscious of the fact that I was being watched,

as was everyone by the secret agents. When

Airforce 1 was about to land, the excitement was

evident in the crowd. It intensified as the

crew and passengers exited the plane, and then

as the President appeared and greeted the crowd.

There stood the most powerful man on earth, in

our city. When he was seen, the crowd applauded

and cheered. It was an exciting moment. Yet,

I couldn’t help but think what it will be like

when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. He’s not

coming on Airforce 1, but in Heavenforce 1, with

power and great glory. Nothing will ever compare

with the splendor of His appearing when He returns

to this earth.

By the way, I also got to see Richard Nixon one

day when he visited Meridian, and all the Water-

gate gang was there on the stage with him. You

could just sense the power and glory of the

Presidency when Nixon shook his fingers with that

so familiar "V" shaped sign.

We need to know about our Lord’s return, and the

reasons He is returning. He doesn’t want us to

be in the dark about His 2nd coming. Why is He

coming back?

I. First, HE IS COMING BACK TO DRAW HIS PEOPLE UNTO

HIMSELF.

1st Thessalonians 4:16-"For the Lord himself shall

descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice

of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and

the dead in Christ shall rise first."

Most scientists say that the world began with a

"Big Bang." I don’t know if that is true, or not,

but I do know that it is going to end with one.

With a shout! With the voice of the archangel!

With the trumphet of God! Talk about fanfare!

You an’t seen nothing like the show God is going

to put on.

1st Thesssalonians 4:17-"Then we which are alive

and remain shall be caught up together with them

in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so

shall we ever be with the Lord."

This, of course, refers to the rapture of believers

when Chrsit returns. We will join Him at the