Kay’s story of
General Douglas Macarthur's famous promise 'I will return. Don’t give
in.' And the little Filipino answered 'I will not give in...I will
fight until you return.' And MacArthur kept his promise and did
return.
When Jesus left
He promised He would return and when He did that He would take His own to
be with Him. As Jesus ascended from the mount of Olives two angelic beings
encouraged them
Acts 1:11
and they also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the
sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in
just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.'
Jesus was gone
but the battle was not over and in fact would get worse. But He promised
to return again. Kay cut these tapes in Feb, 1994, and the hour is dark as
the clouds begin to mount presaging the coming battle directed at
evangelical believers. She specifically alludes to laws that stand in
direct opposition to what we believe. How will we survive? Jesus Christ is
coming again and that is our Hope.
Revelation is an UNVEILING
Remember Revelation is
an UNVEILING by Jesus Christ (not the
unveiling of Jesus Himself). In the Revelation Jesus
would unveil the things that must shortly take place. Shortly
= en tachei...which can mean near in time or soon to take place or
it can also mean suddenly or swiftly. So it is going to come soon bc it
has been almost 2000 years since He left. Assuming a literal coming of
Christ, and given the almost 2000 year 'delay' His return could indeed be
extremely imminent even in our lifetime. That would be shortly.
We need to be living each day with a sense of His imminent return
as a motivating force. And en tachei can mean suddenly just
like in the days of Noah when the flood came door to the ark shut ‘they
did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall
the coming of the Son of Man be. (Mt 24:39).
Review
of Revelation:
God==>Jesus==>Angel==>Bondservant John==>us
John is bearing witness to THE
WORD OF GOD, THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST and it is TRUE, for Jesus is
TRUTH and there is no lie found in him. Satan is the LIAR.
Rev 22:6 And he said to me, 'These words are faithful and true'; and
the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show
to His bond-servants the things which must shortly take place.
So we know what is going to
happen because
Amos 3:7.
Surely the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To
His servants the prophets.
So if you and I will study what
God has given to the prophets we will know what is going to happen.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he who
reads and those who hear
the words of the prophecy, and heed
the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
What we are learning about
prophecy should affect our behavior-what we spend our money and time on,
etc. 'NEAR' is engys (or eggus) = the time is close.
Everything in Revelation pivots around the one fact shown in...
Rev 1:7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see
Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will
mourn over Him. Even so. Amen.
So the focus is
not the character or work of Christ but HIS RETURN and EVERY EYE
will see Him. These things that must shortly take place include things
that come before His coming and that come after His return, referred to in
Titus 2:13 as THE BLESSED HOPE. If you live in the
expectancy of His coming, when you see Him face to face you will not
be disappointed even if He does not come in our lifetime. You need to set
your mind and focus on the truth that HE IS COMING.
What does
the HOPE OF HIS COMING DO in our life practically? It will
cause us to heed
His truths and live in the light of those truths. On the other hand if we
live as if He is not coming in our
lifetime and He indeed does come, then we will be shocked and sorry.
If He does not come, you will still be miserable when you die and see Him
face to face.
What
are the effects of living with a focus on His coming?
1).
Encouraging Hope
2).
Purifying Hope
3).
Comforting Hope
4).
Sobering Hope
ENCOURAGING HOPE
Why? Because it could be soon.
The early church lived with this expectancy and hope of seeing Christ
return as King of kings and Lord of lords, just as Paul emphasized to the
afflicted believers at Thessalonica. And connected with this encouragement
is the exhortation to HOLD FAST! HOLD FAST! HOLD FAST!
LIVING WITH A SENSE OF
IMMINENCY
IMMINENCY:
means our Lord Jesus Christ could come at any moment (including while you
are watching this video or reading this transcript). If this is true then
what about the 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets and 7 Bowls? Don’t we have to see those
things happen and then we get ready? Not necessarily according to 1 Thes
4:13-18 and 1 Cor 15:51-55 speaking of the RAPTURE when He comes to
take His church from the earth. When does the RAPTURE occur? And
how do we know? We’ll study this next semester so hold fast! In any event
we can be ENCOURAGED bc it is a fact that HE IS COMING and when He comes
He will reign. This should encourage us no matter how dark our society
becomes.
PURIFYING HOPE:
1Joh 3:1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that
we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the
world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
The world
system today similarly does not know Him and they will condemn us for our
thinking even more than our behavior...but we have a hope and He will
right all wrongs...in the meantime the world hates true believers and so
our tendency is to give up a bit on our beliefs and come over to the side
of the world so that they will accept us. This is the problem with the
church in America but since they don’t know Him they will not know us.
1 John 3:2
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what
we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because
we shall see Him just as He is. (John saw the glorified, exalted Jesus on
the Isle of Patmos).3 And everyone who has
this hope fixed on Him
purifies himself, just
as He is pure.
The fact that
we are going to see Him and give an account (Rev 22:12 His
reward is with Him) to Him ought to motivate us to live a life
of moral purity and excellence. The fact that His return is imminent,
shortly, soon should cause us to desire to put away sin and purify
ourselves even as He is pure. Are you flirting with sin? Most of
evangelical believers in America are in fact flirting with
sin...especially 'mentally'. Why 'mentally'? Because they
are reading and studying everything BUT THE WORD OF GOD. Kay
alludes to a series of Christian novels as the presumed source of a
believer’s theology. HERE IS THE CRITICAL QUESTION? ARE WE SPENDING AS
MUCH TIME IN THE PURE MILK OF GOD’S WORD AS WE ARE IN CHRISTIAN
NOVELS, OR ANY OTHER CHRISTIAN BOOK ABOUT THE WORD OF GOD? Kay feels the
answer is that as a rule believers are not in the Word as much as in books
about the Word. She can tell by talking with believers, by
the way they live. The problem with the church is that we know more
about the psychology and philosophy of the day then we do
about the oracles and precepts of the Word of God! What is going to come
out of His mouth when He comes? The sword of the Word of God and He
is the Word of God and we will stand before Him.
2Pet 3:7 But the present heavens and earth by His word are being
reserved for fire, kept for the
day of judgment and
destruction of ungodly men. 8 But do not let this one fact
escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand
years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His
promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing
for any to perish but for all to come to
repentance. (We know
He is coming shortly in respect to the length of time or He is coming
suddenly. Let’s assume 'shortly' so that makes 2Pet 3 a prophetic passage.
The reason He has not come is bc He still has sheep to bring into His
fold. We call it 'slow' but in God’s economy the 2000 years are like 2
days.) 10 But the day of the
Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass
away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and
the earth and its works will be burned up. 11 Since all these things are
to be destroyed in this way,(His coming will be a time of mourning for
the world, a time of judgment and destruction for the world...so Peter
asks the question that follows...) what sort of people ought you to be
in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of
the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed
by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according
to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, (Rev
21&22) in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, (term of
conclusion) beloved, since you look for these things,(all
connecting with His coming) be diligent to be found by Him in
peace, spotless
and blameless, 15 and regard
the patience of our Lord to be salvation; ...' His delay means
salvation...it may be your son or daughter, a parent, etc.
in
the context of describing the pouring out of the 7 bowl judgments Jesus
says:
Rev 16:15
Behold, I am coming (erchomai = simply means to go from one place to
another and used in another form in Rev 7:1. If He is coming with the
clouds it is from heaven.) like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays
awake and keeps his garments, (Rev 2 &3 talk about how our garments are
to be spotless, washed in the blood of the Lamb} lest he walk
about naked and men see his shame.'
Rev 22:7 'And behold, I am coming (erchomai) quickly. Blessed is he
who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.' Heed these words and
you will be blessed.
Rev 22:12
'Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every
man according to what he has done.
We are living
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation...in a nation that has
turned its back on God and is beginning to come against Christianity. Kay
believes you and I will have the 'privilege' of giving up our
freedom and possibly even giving up our life for the Lord Jesus Christ.
What will hold you in a society where there are no ABSOLUTES? In the midst
of an evangelical church where 52% say they don’t hold to any absolutes?
The absolute we are to hold
fast to is HE IS COMING and it should encourage and cause us
to purify our lives, knowing that when He comes, He will reward the
faithful. If you are not faithful you will shrink back in shame at His
coming. (1 Jo 2:28).
COMFORTING HOPE:
His coming is a reassuring
hope. It is comforting to know that the ungodly will get the judgment that
they deserve. In our society it looks like the ungodly are getting off
unscathed while believers are suffering, but they haven’t seen the end of
story.
Thes 1:6 For after all it is only
just for God to repay with affliction those who
afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as
well (THE RELIEF COMES) when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from
heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 dealing out
retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey
the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 And these will pay the penalty of eternal
destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His
power, (In Rev 19:11ff Christ returns and in Rev 20:11-15
the dead of the world are judged according to their deeds.)
2 Thes 1:10
when He comes to be glorified in His saints
on that day, and to be
marveled at among all who have believed-- for our testimony to you was
believed.
So what is the COMFORT? That
those who have been afflicted will some day be honored, glorified and
shown to be on the winning side and that should comfort us. And the guilty
will be judged by a Just Judge.
SOBERING HOPE:
Why?
Watch what He says to the church ABOUT HIS COMING:
TO THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS
Rev 2:5 'Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent
and do the deeds you did at first;(your DEEDS show what you truly believe)
or else I am coming to you,
and will remove your lampstand out of its place-unless you repent.
TO PERGAMUM IMMERSED IN
IMMORALITY:
Rev 2:16 'Repent therefore; or else
I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against
them (those who are committing immorality) with the sword of My
mouth.
TO THE CHURCH AT THYATIRA:
Rev 2:24 'But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not
hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they
call them-I place no other burden on you. 25 'Nevertheless what you have,
hold fast until I come.
TO SARDIS
WHICH IS DEAD THAT HAS ONLY A
FEW WHO HAVE NOT SOILED THEIR GARMENTS:
Rev 3:3 'Remember therefore what you have received and heard; and
keep it, and repent. If therefore you will not wake up,
I will come like a thief,
and you will not know at what hour
I will come upon you.
TO THE CHURCH AT
PHILADELPHIA:
Rev 3:11 'I am coming
quickly; hold fast what you have, in order that no one take
your crown.
When General
Douglas MacArthur returned to the Philippines he was looking for that
faithful man and when he found him , he did something that he did not
do for the others...he placed his arms around him and said in essence
'Well done'. What God has said to us is that He is coming and
this is our blessed hope...a purifying hope...an encouraging hope...a
comforting hope...a hope you and I need to cling to because when He comes
His reward is with Him. He is saying 'Hold fast' because 'I am coming.'
You may not know the day or the hour but it is a certainty
'I AM COMING--HOLD FAST AND
DON’T LET ANYONE TAKE YOUR CROWN.'
You and I are a kingdom of
priests unto God and He means for us to occupy until He comes. If you do
you will have a crown and you will be able to lay it at His feet and you
will hear
'Well done my good and faithful servant.'
Whatever is happening in your life you can remember that it is a
certainty...
'Behold, He is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see
Him,
even those who pierced
Him; and
all the tribes of the
earth will mourn over Him. Even so.
Amen.' Rev 1:7
Come quickly Lord Jesus Christ.
