3 MAIN GROUPS IN BIBLE PROPHECY

There are three main groups to keep in mind when reading bible prophecy/apocalyptic writing.

1. The Gentile Nations

2. The Jewish Nation of Israel

3. The Church

Now, the reason that I bring this up as we get into the tribulation again today, because we want to keep each one of those groups and God’s purpose, plan, and design (prophetically) for those individual groups. So, it’s important to keep them in their proper place and proper category. Now, with that being said we’ll be looking at two different focuses before we get to our main text – just to sort of set us up mentally for today.

GOD’S PURPOSE/PLAN FOR THE CHURCH

The first thing that we’ll be looking at is for the Church, that’s capital “C” church – or the body of Christ, and that is the rapture. We’ve talked about that some last week and over the course of this series. While last week we mainly camped out in Matthew 24:15-24, we also covered a few different passages, like:

• 2 Thessalonians 2:4

• Revelation 6:12-17

• John 16:33

This week we’re mainly going to be mainly between Revelation and 2 Thessalonians – if you want to go ahead and get those ready. The rest of the verses will be on the screen (and there’ll be a few of them, and some I’ll mention and won’t read just as I’m being mindful of our time together today). First, to start us off in John 14:1-3, Jesus says:

“Let not your hearts be troubled.”

 Now, there’s only one reason for someone to say that. I wouldn’t say to you right after lunch – “Don’t be hungry.” “Well, duh, I’m not hungry. Thanks for telling me not to be.” So here Jesus is saying, let not your hearts be troubled, as anxiety was filling the hearts of the apostles, moment by moment, during that meal. Because Jesus has made some announcements. A few verses earlier, in John 13:33, Jesus said, “Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’” Well there’s an announcement. “Oh, by the way, I’m leaving.” Go down to verse 36, Simon Peter says, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” Well, okay. And I think like any rationally thinking human – Simon Peter asks a great question - He said, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for your sake.” See, you can almost feel the trouble in Simon Peter’s heart.

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s housethere are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.“

-John 14:1-3 (ESV)

Now, I believe that's the first disclosure in the New Testament concerning the rapture of the Church. No signs, nothing to look for, simply the coming again of Jesus Christ. That is the message to the church. And like I said last week, I’m well aware that there’s many different interpretations of how this could be read – I’m just sharing with you how I currently see it. But, there’s a huge truth to be taught here – so I just want to stress that if you get nothing else over these two weeks that I’ve had the joy of being here with you, get this:

If you are a child of God, you are to be living every day in anticipation Christ could come to take you home.

But after the rapture of the Church, which takes place in Revelation 4:1, where John says:

"Behold, I heard a voice in heaven saying, 'Come up here.'"

- Revelation 4:1 (ESV)

So, I believe the church is caught up in Revelation 4:1 to heaven – John’s experience here compares closely to the rapture as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 – teaching that the rapture occurs with a voice, the sound of a trumpet, and the Church (the body of Christ) being caught up from the earth.

• Chapter 4 of Revelation: we see the rapture of the Church

• Chapter 5 of Revelation: the church is in heaven worshiping around the throne.

• Chapter 6 of Revelation: the antichrist comes riding on a white horse and the beginning of the tribulation.

GOD’S PURPOSE/PLAN FOR ISRAEL & GENTILE NATIONS

So, after the Church is removed and caught to heaven, then we focus on God's plan for Israel and the Gentile nations.

It becomes the focus.

So, the church, the body of Christ, has been complete. The fullness of the Gentiles has come in, the church is now caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And this makes way for these 10 nations to form a revived Roman Empire out of which will come the antichrist – who has many titles, the man of sin, the son of perdition – but today we’ll be referring to him as the antichrist. And we're going to see it unfold for us in the passages we cover today. Now, Jesus warned of a coming time of great tribulation. Write down Matthew 24 and verse 21, which we talked about last week. And remember – this is called the Olivet Discourse, and He was talking about His second coming and the signs that would be prior to that in the period of the Great Tribulation.

He said, "For then there will be great tribulation, such as not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be."

Things that Weren’t the Great Tribulation

And we’ve had a lot of moments as humans throughout our history that I think we could really classify as tribulation.

• The black plague from 1346-1353. Killed 25-50 million people. That’s upwards of 17-~50% of the earth’s population.

• The Spanish flu from 1918-1920 – killing anywhere from 17-100 million people. Or upwards of potentially 5% of the earth’s population.

• COVID-19. Estimated to have killed 7-21 million people (or about .5% of the earth’s population).

• World War 1

• World War 2

• And I guess we could tack on the Chief’s if they don’t win today. Maybe that’s just a tribulation, not a great tribulation.

And not to minimize it, but all of that is nothing in comparison to this time of the Great Tribulation. This will be the last seven years of man's history before the coming again of Jesus Christ. So, you have God's plan and purpose for Israel, God's plan and purpose for the church and we must keep them separated.

NAMES FOR THE TRIBULATION

The 70th Week of Daniel

So first of all, the mountain peak of the tribulation, and we find this primarily in Revelation 6-18, is a period of 7 years. And we also find that it’s divided into two. The first 3.5 years aren’t quite as bad as the last 3.5 years. That 7-year period is called the 70th week of Daniel. If that sounds foreign, we don’t have enough time today to really get into the meat of that, so I’ll sum it up quickly for us:

In Daniel 9, Daniel prays to God to act on behalf of his people and city (the Judeans and Jerusalem), and what he receives is a detailed but pretty complex prophetic timetable from the angel Gabriel. The tribulation comes at the end of that prophetic timetable, the last “week” – so that’s why it’s called the 70th Week of Daniel.

Again, we have the God’s plan and purpose for the Church, and God’s plan and purpose for the nation of Israel – and it’s important to keep them separated.

The Time of Jacob’s Trouble

It's also called the time of Jacob's trouble. Write down Jeremiah 30:7. I'm going to give you some references to this seven-year period. Jeremiah 30:7, the time of Jacob's trouble which indicates, as I pointed out, that one of the primary purposes of the tribulation is actually to prepare the nation of Israel for their Messiah. To bring them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

The Day of the Lord

It's also called the day of the Lord. Write down Isaiah 13:6, 9. This is where we get the term “The day of the Lord” – and where it is used for the seven-year period of tribulation. It's also found in Joel 1:13 -, the phrase “The day of the Lord.”

A Day of Wrath, Distress, Ruin, and Thick Darkness

And then other titles are:

• A day of wrath

• A day of distress and anguish

• A day of ruin and devastation

• A day of darkness and gloom

• A day of clouds and thick darkness

And get this: they're all found in one verse: Zephaniah 1:15

It's called the time of darkness, the time of thick darkness, the time of devastation.

Now, it will be a unique time. Why? Well, as I said, it's the last seven years of God's plan and purpose for the nation of Israel, it brings us up to the end of time.

1. It will be worldwide. Write down Revelation 3:10.

   1. It will cover the whole world.

2. It will be a time of great terror and,

3. It will be a time of God's wrath.

In Revelation 6:16-17, the men who are in terror turn to the rocks in the hills and they cry out and they're praying to the mountains and asking them to fall on them and hide us from the face of the wrath of God who sits upon the throne. So, it'll be a time of great terror and God's wrath, it'll be a time of destruction and it will be a time of deception. So, it has as its primary purpose, being the 70th week of Daniel, the time of Jacob's trouble, to prepare the nation of Israel for its restoration (Rom. 11). Now, Satan will introduce at this time of this 70th-week of Daniel, this time of darkness, this time of deception, his man of lawlessness, the son of destruction, the antichrist.

I want you to look at 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and we're going to back up and eventually cover quite a few verses here, but first I’d like for you to look at verse 3 with me.

“Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day (that’s a reference to The Day of the Lord, or the Tribulation period) will come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed the son of destruction”

2 Thessalonians 2:3 (ESV) 

So, there's someone who's going to be revealed at the beginning of the day of the Lord, the tribulation period. And notice also that he's given two titles here:

1. He's called the man of lawlessness

2. He's called the son of destruction.

It speaks of him being revealed and the revelation that will take place. Now, he's commonly known, even though the Bible doesn't use this phrase for him directly, he's commonly called The Antichrist. I think it’s pretty interesting that we commonly use that term, but the Bible doesn't directly use that term for this man of sin, the son of destruction, The Antichrist. It does in 1 John talk about the spirit of antichrist.

Why Antichrist?

Now, why the term antichrist? For two reasons.

1. Pseudo-Christ

Number one, he comes as a fake or phony or pseudo Christ. He comes trying to take the place of Christ.

2. Opposes Christ

And then number two, he is opposing Christ and the things of God.

So, he tries to take the place of Christ and, secondly, he opposes Christ and the things of God.

Antichrist in the Bible

Now, where is he in the Bible?

Here’s the quick answer: All over the Old and New Testament.

You’re welcome. Don’t you wish everything was that easy to grasp? Right here in the middle of talking about the Antichrist and Tribulation, and you get an answer as easy as that. I love it. In fact, there's a lot of references but I've shaved it down to some of the key verses. Now, they’re going to be on the screen behind me as I read them, and I want you to write them down so you can look them up later because we just don’t have the time today to cover every one of them.

Not if any of us to watch the Super-Bowl later.

Antichrist in the Old Testament

Let’s start in the Old Testament.

• Daniel 9:27
  And that's the end of that time when he makes a covenant with the nation of Israel for one week, one seven-year period.
  So, that 70th week of Daniel or that tribulation period, the day of the Lord, the time of Jacob's trouble - will be a covenant made by the antichrist with the nation of Israel for one seven-year period.

• Daniel 7:8

• Daniel 8:23-25

Antichrist in the New Testament

And in the New Testament:

• Matthew 24:15
  We talked about this last week briefly. But, in this verse in the Olivet Discourse, Jesus talked about the abomination of desolation that was spoken by the prophet Daniel, so there's a reference there to the antichrist.

• 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
  And then our passage this morning, which we're going to unpack for you, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.

• Revelation 13
  The whole chapter. If you study the whole thing, you really do get a lot of insight about the man of lawlessness that comes on the scene and who raises himself up, just exalting himself above God – and ordering everyone else to as well.

I shared these specifically with you because these are really just classic, clear passages about the antichrist.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

Now, I just need to congratulate you, as you’ve made it – finally, to our text today. Let's study 2 Thessalonians 2. Follow me, let's read verses one down to verse three. Paul says:

“Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,”

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 (ESV)

Now, there are two events that must happen before the day of the Lord.

1. There must first be (v. 3) a rebellion (some translations render that phrase as “a falling away”)

2. Secondly, also v. 3, the man of lawlessness (or “man of sin”) is to be revealed.

So, these two events, and I want you to notice this very carefully, two things Paul tells them must happen before this man of sin is revealed or for the day a perdition comes.

The Apostasy

The first thing is a falling away. Look at it with me in verse three, he says there has to come a rebellion first. Now, that rebellion is the Greek word ἀποστασία (apostasia – ap-os-tas-ee’-ah) and it means a falling away, forsaking, turning away, defection.

But the word apostasia is where we get our English word, apostasy. It literally means a departure. Hebrews 3:12-14 teaches us that apostasy consists of an unbelieving and self-willed movement away from God, and that we should try to prevent it at all costs. Now, it’s use in scripture, in context, it's generally referring to a departure from the faith. Now, there’s a few different ways that scholars look at 2 Thessalonians 2:3 – and there’s some differing interpretations out there, and some of them really do hold some water – so I’ll just share with you where I stand on this verse at this time.

I see this as at the end of the church age, that we will see a definite, distinct falling away from the faith. Now, Paul doesn't say a falling away from the faith specifically, but it's used that way quite commonly in the New Testament. And what that means is that I believe we're going to toward the end of the age (prior to the rapture), we're going to see an apostasy, a turning away from Christ, a turning away from the essentials of Christian belief and a turning away from God.

Let me give you a couple of scriptural references for this apostasy.

1 Timothy 4:1 says,

"Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,”

1 Timothy 4:1 (ESV)

Again, they will apostatize, they will give in to the alluring spirits and doctrines of – well if it’s not of God, then it’s of Satan. So, there will be, in the last days, a falling away. We also 2 Timothy 4:3-4, where Paul told Timothy to preach the word, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with complete patience and teaching. And then he tells him why, vv. 3-4: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

That's an apostasy!

They'll turn their ears away from the truth and they'll be giving in to myths. So, Paul tells Timothy, and talk about some sound advice and teaching here: “Timothy - you preach the word. Don't tickle men's ears saying what they want to hear, but preach the truth of God's word.”

Amen.

When Paul met with the elders in Ephesus in Acts 20:29, he said, "I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own shelves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them."

Now – I’m going to say this, it’s one thing to be wrong. To read something wrong, share it wrong, just be wrong about something.

It’s quite another to mislead.

Now, false teachers have always been a part of the Church. Read Matthew 13. There's the tares with the wheat, there's the birds and the branches of the tree, there's the leaven in the meal. Or in other words, there’s always going to be the false with the true but, the point today is that in the end of time, it will escalate and it will grow more common.

The Antichrist Revealed

But notice the second thing that has to happen, the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, v.3. And something to note here is that it was a future event in Paul’s day. Paul is basically saying here, "Look, we're not in the day of the Lord, we're not in the tribulation," which indicates he didn't believe the church would go through the tribulation, he actually said there has to become a falling away and then the man of sin is revealed. Now, and I know I sound like a broken record here – but I’m well aware there’s different opinions on this – but another reason I believe in the imminent rapture of the Church is that, if we believed in a mid-tribulational rapture or a post-tribulational rapture, then we would be looking for the antichrist as the sign for Jesus Christ.

We're not, we're looking for Jesus Christ.

And I’m not saying this of anyone that I personally know, but I think there can be a real temptation sometimes to almost wind up being more interested in who the antichrist is rather than that Jesus Christ is coming again for us.

The Unfolding

So, how will this all unfold?

Now, I want to point out that Paul was writing to them, not to be quickly shaken, v. 2, because someone had written to them a letter, forged a letter in his (Paul’s) name saying we're in the day of the Lord.

The Bible tells us that this false prophet will come on the scene and lead people away during the time of the tribulation. Now, I want to list for you how it's all going to begin to unfold. John Miller, a pastor of a church out in California actually put this list together, so I didn’t do this all on my own, but I loved how he organized this and wanted to at least share the structure of it with you. And obviously, I can't hang out on each one but I’d like to at least give you the 30,000-foot view of how it unfolds after the rapture in eight consecutive points.

1. A 10-nation Confederacy

The first is the emergence of a 10-nation confederacy or a revived Roman Empire. So, after the church is raptured and the world's thrown into upheaval and the chaos, what happens is we see the revival of the ancient Roman Empire which will start with 10 nations or 10 kings. We get this from a couple of places – Revelation 13, when John sees the antichrist rising out of the sea having seven heads and ten horns. We can compare what John saw in Revelation to Daniel 2:41-42. Nebuchadnezzar had this picture in a dream where there was a statue made up of different metals: with a head of gold, the torso of silver, stomach and thighs of brass, legs of iron and then feet and toes of iron and clay.

This statue represented Babylon, Medo-Persia, the Grecian Empire and then the Roman Empire. And then the feet being Roman Empire at the end of time, when Christ would return in the second coming at the end of the tribulation. There were 10 toes which coincide with the ten horns on the beast. Now, whoever the ten nations are, and however they come to unite together, Scripture is clear that the antichrist will subdue three of them (Dan. 7:8), and the rest will do his bidding.

So, even though we get some wild imagery here, the first thing that happens after the rapture is that there becomes a confederacy of 10 nations.

2. The Emergence of the Antichrist

Let’s move on. Here's number two in the chronology, the emergence of the antichrist. So, the rapture, then the first thing after that is the formation of these 10 united nations, then, secondly, there will be the emergence of the antichrist. 

Now, I don't think the antichrist will be a Jew, and there’s a couple of reasons why:

1. He is not going to worship the God of heaven and the Jews will not recognize him.

2. And then the Muslims, they wouldn't acknowledge him either if he is speaking against the God of heaven.

This leads me to think that he will probably a gentile coming out of one of those ten united nations.

3. The Covenant of Peace with Israel

Here's number three, let's move on. He makes a covenant of peace with Israel for seven years. And I know this is a little repetitious but I wanted to lay them out in chronological order.

1. The first, there's the ten united nations,

2. out of which comes the antichrist,

3. and then we have, thirdly, the covenant of peace with Israel for seven years.

This third point is very, very important. Read with me (it will be on the screen) in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, it says that:

“For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”

1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 (ESV)

So, it will be a peace treaty with the nation of Israel. Daniel 9:27 says it's a covenant made with them for one week (or, the 70th week, that last period of tribulation). The beginning of the seven years starts with the covenant made by the antichrist which, at that time, Israel doesn't see him as an antichrist.

4. The Covenant of Peace with Israel is Broken

Then number four, in sequential order, the covenant will be broken. So, the covenant of peace is for seven years and we don't know what all the covenant will involve. Some out there feel that it will be an agreement for peace in the Middle East between Israel and their Arab nations. Certainly, if someone could come along and work out a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians and the issue on the West Bank, I think that they certainly would be hailed by many as the savior of the world. So, the covenant of peace could involve that. Or, perhaps they believe it'll be given the Temple Mount to the Jews to rebuild a temple which indicates that a temple will be rebuilt because the covenant will be broken in the rebuilt temple, like we talked about last week. And I had a couple of questions on that – but this is what is known as the abomination of desolation. And here is where we come back to 2 Thessalonians 2, and let’s continue into vv. 4-5.

“who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?”

2 Thessalonians 2:4-5 (ESV)

This is the middle of the seven years of the tribulation and this is what the antichrist does. He opposes and exalts himself, verse four, against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he, as God, takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. So what we have is the antichrist, sitting in the temple of God. And then Paul says, verse five, "Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?" This is what Jesus mentioned that we talked about last week, in Matthew 24 as the abomination of desolation. And as we read in Revelation 13, it tells that the antichrist will erect an image of himself in the rebuilt temple commanding everyone to worship him as God, and he will actually have everyone to take a mark on their right hand or their forehead, it's called the mark of the beast, it's the number of a man, six, six, six. No one can buy or sell without this mark on their right hand or on their forehead.

So, this covenant is broken.

And this is just such a reflection of what I’ll call the transparency of Satan. Satan's desire has always been to be worshiped as God.  Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:11-17 talks about how Satan wanted to take the throne of God. So, on earth, he's going to declare himself to be God (in the person of the antichrist) and then command everyone to worship him. And while so much of Revelation and even what we’ve talked about can seem almost – farfetched or outlandish, it’s really not, is it? I don’t think it’s all that hard to believe that some demon-possessed political leader will actually stand up one day and say, "I am God, worship me or bow down to me."

5. Signs and Wonders

Now notice the fifth in the sequence of what happens after the rapture. Signs and wonders. Note the power that the antichrist has as described 2 Thessalonians 2:9:

“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,”

2 Thessalonians 2:9 (ESV)

So, it's believed, and I think rightfully so, that this man will be satanically empowered to do miraculous signs and wonders. And Revelation 13 says the whole world will follow after the beast and worship him and say, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” (Rev. 13:4).

Now, just because someone can do a miracle doesn't mean that they are right with God or preaching or teaching the truth of God. Discernment is so, so, incredibly important, because Satan has power as well and he likes to duplicate. He likes to deceive. He wants to deceive people into following him.

6. The Deception of the Antichrist

And this leads us into number six, the deception of the antichrist. And what a truly scary thought this is. Read with me in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11:

“and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 (ESV)

 Talk about three verses. My heart almost starts to race reading these. So what are we seeing here? The antichrist will be unbelievably deceptive, incredibly persuasive, and very powerful. And he will be empowered by Satan, be a great orator. His mouth speaking great things, and, sadly, he will deceive people. Now, the Bible indicates too that he will have a companion known as the false prophet. So, the antichrist will come on the scene more as a political leader but he will have a religious leader following him and there will be a worldwide church, a unification of the world politically, socially, economically and religiously. 

And I mentioned that these verses give us an incredibly scary thought. Here it is: “If you reject the truth, there's only one thing for you to believe and that's the lie.” If you reject the truth of God's word *hold up bible* then you are believing the lie, and you can easily be deceived by this antichrist and his false prophet. Again – terrifying.

7. The Revealing of the Antichrist

Number seven, what is holding back the revelation or the revealing of this antichrist, this man of sin, this son of perdition?

“And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.”

2 Thessalonians 2:6 (ESV)

So, there's going to be a revelation, an unveiling of this man of sin but something's holding it back right now. And as tempting as it is – people do it all the time, it is completely futile to try to speculate on who the antichrist is. And here’s something for you - nowhere in the Bible is the church instructed to be looking for the antichrist. But we are told to be looking for Jesus Christ. Over and over and over again. So, we have that the antichrist will be revealed, and then verse 7:

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.”

2 Thessalonians 2:7 (ESV)

 What is it that's holding and hindering the antichrist from being revealed? I believe God, the Holy Spirit. Even Michael the Archangel said to Satan, “the Lord rebuke you.” He didn't say I rebuke, he said the Lord rebuke you. And only God omnipotent has power against someone as powerful as the devil. 

But the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, and I believe working in conjunction with the church and the world today, the church is the habitation of God through the Spirit. That when the church is taken out in the rapture, and, again, this is consistent with my belief of a pre-tribulation rapture, when the church is taken out, I believe the restraining force of the Holy Spirit is withdrawn. Now, that's not to mean the Holy Spirit who's omnipresent won't be around during the time of the tribulation but it does mean that he takes his hands off and he allows the antichrist to come on the scene.

One of the purposes of the tribulation is for people to decide to follow the antichrist, Satan's man of sin, or to follow Jesus Christ who will come in a second coming. It's going to be a great dividing, it's going to be a time of separation. So, the withholding or the hindrance, I believe, is the Holy Spirit working in conjunction with the church.

Now, last week I pointed out some parallels that with Nebuchadnezzar and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that I thought were really interesting. And this week, I’d like to point out another. I think it’s incredibly interesting, the tribulation, the seven-year period, the 70th week of Daniel, the Time of Jacob's trouble is called the time of darkness.

What did Jesus tell the church? In Matthew 5:14-16:

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Matthew 5:14-16 (ESV)

“You are the light of the world.” What happens when light is removed? Darkness. Can you imagine right now if there were no Christians in the world? What an almost unfathomably dark place this would be.

8. Apocalyptic Hope - Jesus Destroys the Antichrist

But here's my last point and my eighth point, and I ask this question, how will the antichrist come to his end? How will the antichrist come to his end? Let me tell you this, there’s no election come November. It’s not a democratic process. What happens is, and this is a glorious truth, and apocalyptic hope, Jesus Christ comes back and destroys him. Amen? But not in some knockdown drag-out bare knuckle MMA cage fight. 

No, way better. Merely with the word coming out of His mouth and the brightness of His appearing.

“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.”

2 Thessalonians 2:8 (ESV)

Here’s some of the description in Revelation 1 when John, on the island of Patmos, saw Jesus in power and majesty and glory.

• His eyes were like a flame of fire,

• his feet were like burnished bronze,

• his voice was like the roar of many waters,

• his face was like the sun shining in full strength,

• from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword

Now, here’s some of the description of Jesus in the second coming in Revelation chapter 19.

• His eyes were like a flame of fire,

• A sharp sword coming from his mouth,

• He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God

• On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

• And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses,

Now, at this very moment, and again I haven't gone into any detail, this is a bird's eye view, the armies of heaven will be gathered together in battle against the antichrist.

But what a difference it's going to make when Jesus splits the sky and, as the lightning shines from the east to the west, so shall the coming of the son of man be.

That's what we're looking for, that's what we're yearning for, that's what we're desiring. For the Lord Jesus Christ to come back and set up His kingdom, and that’s what Josh will be talking about next week. The second advent of Christ, it's what all of scripture is looking forward to.