Will you take your Bibles this morning and turn to Mark 13, we will continue our verse-by-verse examination of this gospel. We're going to be looking at verses 32 through 37, in a few minutes, and then we're going to launch from there into Revelation 19. And this is actually the seventh and final part of a study on Jesus's prophetic discourse on the end of the age. It's exciting to see what God has revealed to us in His word concerning how things are ultimately going to end up, I'm glad to know what the final chapter is going to look like because right now, it would seem like the world is out of control; that there's a train that has lost its brakes, and it's winding around a mountain. And it's inevitably going to crash. And I think that's how most people feel.

Jesus has been responding to the disciple’s questions regarding the when and the what; in other words, the nature and the duration of Israel's desolation, and the sign of his coming, of his appearing. And he has described six very specific signs called "birth pangs." Including the abomination of desolation and so forth, that will occur just before he returns. Then he elaborated on the sequence of events that will lead up to his glorious appearing, the ultimate and unmistakable sign of his very presence, visible for the whole world to see. And he warns the generation that will be alive during that time, about the nature of his pre kingdom judgments, that which will occur during the time of the tribulation. But in so doing, every believer who has access to the Bible, can be profoundly blessed. Because again, we see here how the story ends; we see how God is ultimately going to fulfill his covenant promises to Israel, how he's going to defeat Satan, judge the world and ultimately bring glory to himself.

Now, before we look at the text, I would like to remind you that in Jesus’ day in the first century, although most of Judaism was thoroughly apostate, they nevertheless had a very accurate understanding of eschatology. Even without the help of the New Testament revelation, in fact, in Emil Schurer's classical work entitled "A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus," he outlines the Jewish understanding of the "eschaton," of the last things; concepts derived from the Old Testament which bear remarkable resemblance to the pre-millennial motifs, and themes that I've just described, and that we've studied.

According to Jewish eschatology, I'll just kind of list some bullet points. They believe that there would be a coming tribulation and confusion upon the earth, called "messianic woes." That Elijah would come before Messiah. They believed in the appearance of the Messiah, a final attack by the nation's own Messiah, and then a destruction of those powers; a restoration of the Jews, according to Ezekiel 40, through 48. And then a return of dispersed Israel, Kingdom glory with Jerusalem at the center, a renewal of the world and a general resurrection and final judgment. That's what they believe.

Now, as Christians, I want you to bear in mind the big picture of what is happening in redemptive history. In fact, this is a bit of a summary of the entire Bible, if you will remember that there are just two simple dominant themes in Scripture. Number one, we see that God is going to redeem the people. And number two, he is going to restore the Kingdom. Very simple. He's going to redeem the people. And of course, this is pictured throughout Scripture, with Jesus being the sacrificial lamb, the Savior, the suffering servant. But also with respect to restoring the kingdom, we read about him as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, as the Messiah King. We see a picture of a promise lamb and Genesis after the original sin. You remember when God killed an innocent animal to be a substitute that had to die to cover sin; a shadow of a coming Redeemer that would one day make atonement for sin, pointing to Christ. We see this Lamb pictured in the deliverance of Egypt in the sacrificial system and prophesied all through the Old Testament. And then we see he arrives in the Gospels.

And in the gospels, we see Christ in his humiliation, the Lamb that opened not his mouth; the one who died to save sinners. But also, all through the New Testament, we see him portrayed as king. As we learn more about his plan of redemption, we learn about the signs that point to him as the King of kings, and how we are to live for his glory. Again, bear in mind, the Gospels present him in his humiliation as the sacrificial Lamb. But in the book of Revelation, he's depicted in his exultation, as the Lion of Judah; as the king of Israel, who has promised to return and establish a glorious kingdom, where he will put his glory on display for 1000 years; a millennial kingdom that will be the consummating bridge between human history and the eternal state. Now, that's the big picture.

As we come back to Mark's gospel, we've seen that four times in these final verses of Mark 13, Jesus solemnly warns the generation that we'll be living in that day to stay alert. And this ultimately applies to us as well in a little bit different way, as we will see. Although the events leading up to his arrival, will cause them to know the general time of his return; the exact moment of his appearing is unknown, so they have to stay alert. And this brings us to verse 32. "'But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.'" Now, bear in mind, during the Incarnation, Jesus deliberately set aside temporarily certain aspects of his divinity. And indeed, in his incarnation, he did not know the specific moment of his future arrival. But he did know the signs that would lead up to that certainly, he knows it now. And so in verse 33, he goes on to say, "'Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.'"

I might add, that every generation should remain vigilant. As we fervently anticipate our translation into glory, when he comes to snatch away his church in the rapture of the church, which will take place prior, I believe, to Daniel's 70th week, which is distinctively Jewish in nature. In First Thessalonians 1:10, the apostle Paul says that we are "...to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come." He will take us out and then pour out His wrath upon the earth during the time of the tribulation. But we have to remember that we are at war, we need to stay alert. There's no place for complacency in the Christian life.

Now back to Mark 13. Next, Jesus gives the tribulation saints an analogy to emphasize this need to stay alert. Notice what he says beginning in verse 34, "'It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Therefore, be on the alert - for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning - in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you, I say to all, 'Be on the alert.''"

We see Luke adding further insight into Jesus' warning when he records this in Luke 21 beginning in verse 34, "'Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of the of all the earth. But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.'" John MacArthur adds this, quote, "Though the events predicted in the Olivet Discourse are still future, it's truth serves to instruct every generation of believers throughout church history. On the one hand, it serves as a vivid reminder that the things of this world are temporary, and that the redeemed are citizens of an eternal kingdom that is yet to be revealed on earth when the Lord comes in glory. On the other hand, it provides a compelling motivation for believers to proclaim the glorious gospel of Christ, to those who are perishing, so that they might be saved from the impending judgment of God."

Now, let's project ourselves into the future. What will the people see when the Lord Jesus Christ descends to earth in his pre-incarnate glory, attended by the heavenly hosts of his heavenly angels, and his glorified saints? What will it be like when the world will behold the Lord our God; the one that they have mocked for so many millennia? What will it be like when they see his utter transcendence? When they see his consummate perfections, when they see his eternal glory? And what will they think when they witness the climax of human history? The climax of the Christian's hope; the fulfillment, yeah, the vindication of every saint down through redemptive history. I mean, think of this folks with unimaginable majesty and uncontested regal authority, the Lord Jesus Christ is going to come as both a judge and warrior; the Messiah, the warrior king. The king of kings, and the Lord of lords. And he will return as he promised, physically, to exercise his judicial power, and to destroy the remaining Christ haters on the earth, who have mocked him. The ones who have survived so far, the pre-kingdom judgments, of the past several years before he would return. And he's going to crush the Antichrist. He is going to defeat his minions, he's going to bind Satan, and he will put an end to all of man's foolish politics; to abolish all rule and authority. When Christ returns, man's long rebellion against God will be crushed. My how I long for that day. Don't you get tired of seeing our Lord so defiled so mocked and ridiculed? The Messianic Kingdom of Old Testament prophecy, long anticipated by both Jews and Gentiles will finally be established upon the earth for 1000 years, as God has promised, leading to the eternal and universal judgment of both the living and the dead.

Now, to further elaborate on this, I would like to take you to the book of Revelation, the book of Revelation turned to Revelation chapter 19. I just returned with several of our dear people, some couldn't be with us today, some are still in Europe. But we just came back from an educational tour of Turkey and Greece retracing Paul's second missionary journey, and we went down into the Aegean Sea, and we were able to visit the Isle of Patmos, to be able to see the cave that John stayed in. Tradition has it, pretty strongly, that this is where he was. And so with this in mind, I can just imagine in my mind's eye where John was when he received the Apokalypsis lesou Christos, the revealing of Jesus Christ; the revelation of Jesus Christ. And one of the things that I can tell you firsthand, having been, for example, in Ephesus and Corinth, and Athens, I can tell you that all you will see are ruins. Zeus and Athena didn't do all that they promised. All of the gods, the pantheon of gods of Greece and Rome, are dead. In fact, they never even existed. How sad. The idols of those ancient civilizations were all powerless. Even the human emperors that they would deify. ("Is that better?" audio glitch being fixed). Even the human Emperor's that they would deify are all dead. I mean, think about it. They worship the Pharaohs of Egypt; dead. They worship Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonians; they worshiped Cyrus of the Medes and the Persians. They worship Alexander the Great of Greece. And they worshiped all of the Caesars of Rome. They're all dead. Oh, they're still alive, but they're in the torments of hell. It's so sad to see paganism. And today, it is still there, even though they worship in different ways. I think of going into Turkey, in what used to be Constantinople. Now, it's Istanbul, 21 million people, secular Muslims, and to see that these people have no understanding of who Christ is and don't want to know. Greece is different, but it's still a pagan land. So, so sad.

Folks, there is only one God who exists in three persons--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And that's what God brought to those lands many years ago. The apostle Paul in particular sowed the seeds of the gospel, and many were saved. And it is the unrivaled preeminence of the Lord Jesus Christ that is the chief object of our praise, not some idol that we have manufactured in our mind. We must bear in mind that he is the Creator, he is the sustainer. He is the deliverer. He is the controller. He is the Redeemer, and he is the consummate author of all things. And he is coming again. In fact, the prophet Isaiah tells us in 46, verse nine, "For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, 'My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.'" And what is that? To redeem his people and to restore his kingdom. And it is his glory, that is at the very center of gravity of the theological universe, and it is his glory that our lives should orbit around that is the center of gravity for every believer. As the inspired Psalmist declared in Psalm 96, verse 10, we must do this, "Say among the nations, 'The Lord reign; indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.' Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice; et the sea roar and all it contains; let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness."

Now, back to our text as we consider Jesus' Olivet Discourse, his final words concerning his glorious return, I'd like to, kind of, further ignite your hearts about what this return is going to look like because God has given us a glimpse of it in Revelation 19, for example, verses 11 through 21. And there are four themes concerning what I would call the warrior king that emerged from this text that I would like to look at, briefly here with you this morning. We're going to look at his arrival, his army, his authority and his attack, very simple.

Again, what must have gone on through John's mind as he witnessed the glorious future that awaited him and all of the saints? I'm sure the sufferings of Patmos paled into insignificance as he beheld the ineffable realities of God's sovereign purposes, to bring glory to himself. So we began with verse 11. This is really the first scene shall we say that introduces all the others. This is under the first heading, his arrival, verse 11, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war." This is an absolutely amazing scene, to see the spiritual world, beyond the veil of our limited sight. "I saw heaven opened." As I reflected upon this, John is one of the few that God selected to witness heaven being opened. You remember prior to this, he witnessed mighty angels of judgment, quote, "coming down out of heaven." We see this in chapter 10, verse one; chapter 14, verse 17; Chapter 18 and verse one. Imagine that you could see this. And now in chapter 19, moments before he sees heaven opened, and beholds, the Lord of glory on a white horse. He says in verse one, "I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying, 'Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.'" And now here in verse 11, we see the reality of these words. Okay?

Again, verse 11, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war." Think what a stark contrast this is. From the first time he came in obscurity, and in humiliation. Remember, the king came into Jerusalem riding a donkey, a beast of burden. And indeed, he was coming there to bear the burden of our sins. But now he symbolically rides a magnificent mount, a steed of splendor, if you will. The kind of that conquering generals would ride into Rome. In the great processional marches of triumph. A white horse of triumph really points to his uncontested authority. And notice the rider here, "He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True." I mean, can there be a more perfect title for the King? Can there be a more fitting description of the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ? I think not. Notice, first John learns that he who sat upon the white horse is called "Faithful and True." Alright? Faithful, as we know, carries the force of being totally trustworthy, totally dependable. Did not the distraught Prophet express his hope in the Lord saying in Lamentations 3:22, "The Lord's loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for his compassions never fail; they are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness." We just sang it a few minutes ago. And in Second Thessalonians three and verse three, the apostle Paul says, "the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one." And did not the Apostle Paul comfort us in First Corinthians 10:13, saying, "God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able." Oh, dear Christian, this is our faithful Savior, and King, who will sit upon the steed of final triumph.

And notice he is also "True." This term carries the idea of real or genuine. In other words, he is the very essence of truth. John 14, verse six, "'I am the way and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.'" John said of him in First John 5:20, "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life." My, what a contrast to our politicians, that we can't trust. So here the Lord describes himself as trustworthy, the very essence of truth. Earlier in chapter three and verse 14, he is described as, quote, "...the faithful and true witness."

Now practically speaking, in our world of satanic deception, of smoke and mirrors; of fake news; of the instability and unfaithfulness and lies, isn't it wonderful that we can rest assured that our Savior, our Lord, and our King is absolutely faithful and true. Notice also it says, "...and in righteousness He judges and wages war." Now think about it, here we see both the motive and the mission of his return. He's coming to judge and to conquer. We know from other passages that he is going to conquer the beast, the Antichrist. He will be vanquished and all who have opposed him will be punished. And in verse 12, he goes on to say and, "...his eyes are a flame of fire..." This symbolism can also be seen in chapter one and verse 14 and chapter two and verse 18. And it speaks of certainly the fierceness of his wrath against his enemies. But it also speaks of the penetrating eyes of his divine omniscience, that can, like a laser, burn through every barricade of rebellion; every fortress of deception and search and destroy hardened sinners. Daniel witnessed this as well in chapter 10 and verse six, when he beheld the pre-incarnate Christ. There we read, "His body was also like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words, were like the sound of a tumult." Beloved, please hear me, this is my Savior, and my King, and my Lord, I hope he is yours.

And here we are reminded of what the author of Hebrews has said in chapter four verse 13, "There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." He also tells us that upon his head are many diadems. You see, this is the crown of royalty. A ruler's crown was always emblematic of a king's authority. And we know that it was the ancient custom of conquering kings, to place their foot upon the neck of a vanquished king, and place that king's crown upon their head, to demonstrate how that they had completely subjugated that fall. In fact, many of the ruins that you will see in the Middle East are great statutes. Statues of this very thing.

But John sees something else that identifies this rider. Notice at the end of verse 12, "...and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself." Now, obviously, it's futile to speculate what that name might be. He alone knows what it is. He alone knows what it means. It was inscrutable to John, it's inscrutable to us and here we are reminded, are we not, of the ineffable, indescribable nature of our Savior King. Perhaps in glory, we will know what that name is; we're not told.

But notice what else John sees as he witnesses the arrival of the warrior king in verse 13, he says, "He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood." Robe here is a term, "himation"--it was a cloak that was worn by a horseman, but especially the cloak of a Roman general. And I want you to understand, this has nothing to do with the blood of Christ shed upon the cross. The context here has nothing to do with his work of atonement, or His work of redemption. It has everything to do with war. This is a reference to the blood of his enemies. And this imagery is drawn from Isaiah 63, especially verses one through six, where we read about this time of God's vengeance upon the nations that will come? He says, "Who is this who comes from Edom." Edom, by the way, here represents the world that hates Christ-- "...with garments of glowing colors from Bozrah." Bozrah was the ancient capital of Edom, that wicked civilization. "This One who is majestic in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? I have trodden the wine trough alone, and from the peoples there has no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger and trampled them in My wrath; and their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, and I stained all My raiment. For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and My year of redemption has come. 'I looked, and there was no one to help, and I was astonished and there was no one to uphold; so My own arm brought salvation to Me, and My wrath upheld Me. And I trod down the peoples in My anger and made them drunk in My wrath, and I poured out their life blood on the earth." So the imagery of the King clothed with a robe dipped in blood, speaks of the slaughter of Armageddon. When the Lion of the tribe of Judah reeks vengeance on his enemies.

And then the scene of his arrival closes with yet another mention of the warrior Messiah's name. It says, verse 13, "..and His name is called The Word of God." The inspired apostle also records this same concept and his gospel referring to Christ Jesus, remember in John one, one, as the Logos - the word of God. And now here again, he learns afresh that, "...His name is called The Word of God." And, of course, this speaks of the revelation of the purposes of God; His purposes that are being fulfilled even now but will find their full expression in the person and work of Christ at the end of the age.

So first, John speaks of the warrior king’s arrival; secondly, his army, verse 14, "And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses." My friends, this is the regiment of the redeemed, I like to call it. This is consistent with chapter 17, verse 14, quote, those who are with actually the King of kings and Lord of lords, "...are the called and chosen and faithful." In other words, this regimen is made up of the elect of God. This is further confirmed by their attire, notice they're clothed in "fine linen, white and clean." And this is the same portrayal that's used in verses seven and eight of chapter 19, to describe the Lamb's bride, the bride of Christ, who has quote, "...made herself ready. And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." And we know that when we come to saving faith in Christ, and the Spirit of God causes us to be born again. We are declared righteous, we are justified and at that point, we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ; His righteousness is imputed to us. That's what he's speaking about here. Folks, this is the regiment of the redeemed. It's also important to remember that we're merely going to accompany our commander, we're not going to be fighting. And Paul tells us in Colossians, three and verse four, "When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory."

And I might add, just parenthetically, that the unarmed troops can really be placed in four categories, you're going to have the bride of the Lamb, which will include the rapture church, described earlier in chapter 19. Then you're going to have the tribulation saints; those saints that are going to be saved during the tribulation, who are pictured in heaven, in the identical attire that we read about in chapter seven and verse nine, and then the Old Testament saints who will be resurrected at the end of the tribulation, according to Daniel 12, verses one and two. And finally, the angelic host of heaven that Jesus describes in Matthew 25, verse 31. Also, Second Thessalonians one seven, and there we read, "...when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus."

So we've seen his arrival in his army. Notice next, his authority, in verse 15. And "From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty." You see, the weaponry of the warrior king speaks of his divine authority, and it consists here of both a sword and a rod. And this imagery is also drawn from Isaiah's prophecy concerning the righteous reign of "the Branch," which is a messianic title in the Old Testament, let me read a little of this for you. And by the way, this is how you know how to interpret some of these passages; you see where these terms are used in other places. In Isaiah, chapter 11, verse one, we read that, "A shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from its roots will bear fruit."

Now let me pause there for a moment. Remember the Assyrians, they came in and they destroyed the northern kingdom. Then you have the Babylonians coming in and basically and all of the others that followed. And so it's like, the Davidic dynasty, the Jews, they're just gone, right? That's what many thought. But we're seeing here that a shoot it's going to spring up, it's like a shoot from a stump. You know, we've got trees like that here, unfortunately, you know, you cut them down as low as you can and within a few weeks, you begin to see branches coming up out of it again. That's the imagery here. He goes on to say, verse four, speaking about this shoot, the branch from the Davidic dynasty, referring ultimately to the Lord Jesus Christ, the greater son of David, "but with righteousness," verse four, "he will judge the poor and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth. And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips, He will slay the wicked." Here we see that Christ alone will slay the wicked with just the power of his Word, including the arrogant antichrist. You will remember that Paul described his arrogance, and his very nature in Second Thessalonians two and verse eight. He's described as "the lawless one, whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming." And notice in verse 15, he wields the sword of his retribution, why? "That he may smite the nations."

Now we know in chapter one and verse 16, that "out of His mouth, comes a sharp two-edged sword." And there he is depicted as the Lord of the church who protects the church from the onslaughts of Satan. And then in chapter two and verse 16, he says that he quote, makes war against them with the sword of his mouth, okay, but here his sword, quote, "smites the nation" as he delivers Israel, from the hour of their greatest peril, and he puts an end to all who rebelled against Him. Bear in mind that when he returns, he will destroy all of the wicked gathered against Israel in the slaughter of Armageddon.

I was talking with some of my Jewish friends, one in particular that I was with while I was overseas, and it's so sad to see the world turning against Israel. Even though many of the peoples of the world for example, the people in Iran, they love the Israelis, the people in Turkey love the Israelis, people in Greece love, they vacation there, but it's their leaders that are militant Islamic fundamentalists that hate them. And you see how the whole world is being gathered together in this antisemitism, but we know that he's going to preserve a remnant of his elect from both Israel and from the Gentile nations. But the remaining unregenerate people on the earth will stand condemned before the warrior king.

I might add that it will be at that time, when he returns, that He will separate them; the sheep and the goats in that judgment. Read about that in Matthew 25:31, through 46. And at the end of that section, the Lord says something very powerful, "and these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." And then after rendering judgment upon the wicked, God's own mediatorial King--the greater son of David, the son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ--will finally put an end to Satan's long misrule upon the earth, through the agency of ungodly men. And we see further evidence of his regal authority in the next part of this verse 15, at the end, "...and He will rule them with a rod of iron..." A rod of iron, this is the same term in Hebrew for a king's scepter, a "shavat," a king's scepter; a symbol of rule. And here we see the combining of the king, as well as the shepherd. And we see this combination used throughout the Old Testament. He's the one who, not only as a Shepherd leads and provides and nurtures, but he also protects, and he delivers. And he avenges. And indeed, the scepter of the monarch always symbolizes the authority that God has granted to the Messiah King to rule over the nations. And he will do so with unassailable might and unrivaled authority. My, how I long for that day. And again, dear friends, this is my Savior. This is my king; I hope he is yours.

And it's amazing, in Revelation two beginning of verse 26. Jesus has also promised that quote, "overcomers," will rule with Him. By the way, overcomers, that's a designation of true Christians that persevere, even in the midst of great trial. And the only way any of us will ever persevere in the fires of extreme adversity, is by the power of the indwelling Spirit; we could never do it on our own. So they're called overcomers, and says, They will rule with him. And there we read it again, Revelation two, verse 26, "'He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father.'" So when we return with him, we also will rule and reign with Him.

So again, verse 15, and, "From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it, He may smite the nations and He will rule them with a rod of iron." At that time, all of the rebellion will cease, and his law will be the only law. I notice here in verse 15, it says, "And He;" this is a repetition from the preceding clause denoting the idea in the original language that he, himself, he alone will do this. And this graphic symbolism of an absolute bloodbath, is drawn from the ancient practice of winemaking where people would literally, and I'm sure you've seen pictures of this, they would use their bare feet to trample grapes in a large vat to acquire the juice for making wine.

And the language that is used here is derived from two Old Testament texts, Isaiah 63, one and four in particular that I just read a minute ago, but also in Joel three, in verse 11, Joel three verse 11, and following, "Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down, O LORD, Your mighty ones. Let the nations be aroused, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat." "Jehoshaphat" means "YAWEH Judges;" "For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon grow dark and the stars lose their brightness. The LORD roars from Zion and utters His voice from Jerusalem and the heavens and the earth tremble. The LORD is a refuge for His people, and a stronghold to the sons of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, and strangers will pass through it no more."

And then as if to underscore the absolute authority of the Warrior King, John sees a prominent name written even further on the Lord; this may be a banner that's draped across his shoulders, we don't know, or across his chest or hung from his side. But in verse 16, we read, "And on His robe and on His thigh, He has a name written, 'KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.'" Beloved, Israel's long anticipated Messiah will finally ascend to his earthly throne in a literal Jerusalem and establish a literal kingdom, as he has promised. And all of the unconditional, irreversible covenants that God has given Abraham and David and even the New Covenant, all of those will finally be fulfilled to the letter; the seventh eighth week of pre kingdom judgments prophesied by Daniel will finally be over.

And in closing just a footnote, in the present church age we're looking for the rapture. In fact, the objective of the entire 70 weeks of judgment, bear in mind, is for Israel, not the church. I do not see the church involved in any of this. Daniel 9:24, "70 weeks had been decreed for Your people in Your holy city." And here's why, "...to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and anoint the most holy place." These were promises pertaining to Israel's messianic kingdom. The Lord promised that the church would be "kept from"-- Revelation 3:10, "kept from the hour of testing; that hour which is about to come upon the whole world." Again, I believe that the Gentile church has temporarily replaced rebellious Israel as the custodians of divine truth. But that church will be snatched away. Remember, we will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye and then God will resume his final seven years of judgment upon his chosen nation, Israel. That again is Daniel 70th week, you can read about that in Daniel 9:24, and following.

And also bear in mind that the rapture of the church is a sign less event, it could happen right now. But the Second Coming has many signs. And I might also add that we are looking for Christ, not the Antichrist. We are looking for Christ, not the Antichrist. In the rapture, the Lord comes for his saints, and we meet him in the air. And the second coming, he comes with his saints. It's very different. And all other views apart from a Pretribulation rapture tend to cause men to be preoccupied with themselves, rather than Christ, who is our hope.

I might add, just very practically, I fear there's far too many Christians who devote themselves to preparing for survival during the time of the tribulation; are obsessed with politics and environment and social ills. And they arm themselves and all these things. By the way, when you read what's going to happen during the Tribulation, I don't think we will be here. But none of those things are going to help you. I don't care how good of a shot you are. All right? And this is a common device of the enemy. Be careful that you don't get ensnared with this. Has not Paul said, "...keep seeking the things above, where Christ is. Seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." Colossians three, one. Now I'm all for having some extra water and protecting my family and all of that. But folks, we have a great commission and t's all about the gospel. It's not about getting ready to fight all of the bad people and being preoccupied with all of those things. That is a, that is a great distraction of the enemy that will bring you to ruin, it will cause you to forfeit divine blessing and actually place you in the pathway of divine chastening.

So in closing, I hope that each of you will examine your heart because the Lord Jesus Christ is my Savior, and he is my King. And I know he is, for most all of you, and I hope all of you, your Savior and your King, and he is coming again. Let's live in light of that. Let's be excited about that. Yes, the world will mock you, they will ridicule. You know, the Lord knows that. I mean, Satan is the god of this world right now. Right? But the purposes of God will not be thwarted. And let's be excited about these things. Let's be evangelistic and live to the praise of his glory. And as saints, rejoice in Christ, who is our hope, amen? Let's pray together.

Father, thank you for the eternal truths of your word. They bring such a joy to our heart, because we know that even though it appears that everything is opposed to the knowledge of Christ and the glory of the gospel, we know that in fact, you are ultimately in charge. And we know that you have promised to build your church, and that death itself cannot prevent that. Lord, thank you for saving us in eternity past, drawing us unto yourself. Thank you that we are a part of a love gift that the Father has given the Son. Thank you that there is nothing that can separate us from that love. So, Lord, take the words that we have studied today, apply them to our hearts, that you might be exalted in each one of us. I ask in the precious name of Jesus, our Savior and our Lord and King. Amen.