                                   FUTURE
                                     THE
                           SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

   I. Introduction

      The Bible tells us that as Christians we are only pilgrims in this 
      world, citizens of a Heavenly Kingdom, looking forward to our 
      salvation in the Second Coming of Christ and Eternity.  In the 
      book of 1 Thessalonians and in the Gospel of Matthew we are told 
      that the coming of Christ will be on a day much like today; a day 
      when people will be eating and drinking, marrying and being given 
      in marriage (Mat 24:38).  It will come like a thief in the night 
      and at an hour when we do not expect it (1 Thess 5:2).  So that it 
      does not take us by surprise we are warned to be ready for Him, to 
      keep watch, (Mat 24:42,44), and to encourage one another to live 
      godly lives (1 Thess 5:8,11).  According to God's calendar of 
      events it could begin at anytime, today, tonight, or tommorow.

      In light of this I would like us to consider some of the major 
      passages of the Bible concerning the Second Coming of Our Lord 
      Jesus Christ and the events of the end times so that we may more 
      eagerly look forward to our coming salvation in the return of
      Christ.

      I have linked many Scriptures together chronologically to form a 
      picture of the end time events as I believe they will happen.  I 
      would like you to take a trip forward in time right where you are 
      and view the events of the end times as history, as if you are 
      hearing a story that has already occurred.  Can you picture us in 
      eternity future, looking backwards toward this era?  Let me be 
      your guide.

      A. Voice from the Future

         Picture us standing right now in the Father's House, in the
         city called the New Jerusalem.  The walls of our city are
         crystal clear like a diamond and the streets are made of
         pure gold like transparent glass.  There is no night here
         for brilliant light shines everywhere.  Neither is there   
         death nor sin for the old order of things has passed away.
         
         The New Jerusalem is extremely large.  It measures 
         approximately 1400 miles square and is an unbelievable 1400 
         miles high (Rev 21:4). It is surrounded by a jeweled wall 
         200 feet high which has twelve gates made from pearls and 
         the gates are attended by angels.  In the city is the Tree 
         of Life just like the one that was in the Garden of Eden, 
         and we all eat of its fruit.  We drink from the spring of 
         the Water of Life that flows down the main street of the 
         city.  The glory of God is the illumination of the city. 
         We experience total joy and perfect peace here with God.

         Now permit me to share some of the chronological account of
         the major events that have taken place since Jesus came for 
         us at the end of the Church Age.

  II. Events Prior to Second Coming

      A. Rapture

         1) The Promise (John 14:2-3)

            When the beloved Jesus ministered on the earth during His
            first coming, He had promised His followers in the Church
            that He would return to Heaven for a while and then come
            back for His bride.  In fact His exact words were, "In my 
            Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would 
            have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for 
            you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come 
            back and take you to be with me that you also may be where 
            I am."

            Because it had been so long, some in the Church Age had
            struggled with the fact that Jesus would come back.  They 
            knew that He said He would return but life seemed so normal 
            and therefore highly unlikely He would return in their 
            generation.  Yet, as Jesus said in the Book of John, "I will 
            not leave you as orphans; I will come to you" (14:18).

         2) The Event (1Thess 4:16-17)

            Yes, Jesus came back exactly as it was recorded in the
            Scriptures.  Jesus had told us to, "...keep watch, because
            you do not know on what day your Lord will come...the Son of
            Man will come at an hour when you least expect Him" (Mat
            24:42,44).

            It was a day that was like many others on the earth.  Some
            Christians were at their jobs busily involved in their
            assignments, mothers were changing diapers and cleaning the
            home; in other parts of the earth the Christians were asleep
            in their beds.  Many young believers were busy in their
            classrooms at school, some Christians were in prayer
            meetings at church, and there were the persecuted Christians
            around the world that were being tortured because of their
            faith in Jesus.

            There were even some believers who were involved in acts of
            sin when their Master returned for them, but everyone in
            every situation was taken by utter surprise when suddenly, a
            loud thundering voice was clearly heard from up in the sky.
            Every Christian on earth instantly looked up and could see
            the magnificent splendor of our Glorious Savior Jesus
            Christ.  "He was dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet
            and with a golden sash around His chest.  His head and hair
            were white like wool, as white as snow,...His face was like
            the sun shining in all its brilliance" (Rev 1:13-14,16).

            The loud command that we heard was comparable to the time 
            when Jesus called Lazarus from the grave with "a loud 
            voice, 'Lazarus, come out!'" (John 11:43).  Jesus called 
            each Christian to come up to Him.  At about the same 
            time there was a voice of an archangel and a resounding 
            trumpet call and then all those who had died believing in 
            Christ rose from the grave in immortal bodies and ascended 
            up to Jesus.  Then in what seemed to be a "twinkling of an 
            eye" all the believers who were alive suddenly lifted off 
            the earth to also join their Savior, and were gloriously 
            changed into beautiful immortal bodies.

            Then Jesus led us, His resurrected and glorified followers
            back to the third heaven.  We traveled faster than the speed
            of light and were in the Father's House in a moment's time.


      B. Chaos and Wrath On Earth

         1) The Chaos

            Our sudden disappearance caused widespread chaos throughout
            the world, for we were approximately 5,000,000 people in
            number, not counting the multitude of resurrected saints.
            Airplanes crashed because essential crewmembers were
            missing.  Cars were strewn on many freeways for lack of
            drivers.  Husbands were frantically searching for wives who
            had vanished.  Wives too were left waiting for husbands who
            would not be returning home.  Teen-agers were searching for
            parents, and likewise, some parents were also looking for
            their teen-age sons and daughters.

            Some world leaders were also among the missing, many 
            people speculated that they were abducted by terrorists.  
            Behind the Iron Curtain the authorities were furious over 
            the unexplained disappearance of their "religious 
            prisoners."  Some churches were left nearly empty and 
            others were full of the "falsely religious" including the 
            Pastor and the Elders.


         2) The Explanation

            The world sought answers for the millions of missing 
            persons.  Some guessed that it may have been the Rapture 
            that some Christians had mentioned would occur some day, 
            but this was quickly discounted by the leading false 
            religions which remained, such as, the Roman Catholic 
            Church, the Mormons, and the Jehovah Witnesses to mention a 
            few.  It was then decided that the Christians who had 
            disappeared were the "fanatics," the ones who were always 
            talking about Jesus, the Bible and the need to be Born 
            Again.  It was assumed that we had all gathered in giant 
            communes somewhere to pursue our religious zeal.

            But while the world was still in a state of shock and 
            chaos, a man arose who offered solutions to the problems, 
            promising "Peace and Safety."  He was the one the Bible had 
            said would come someday--the Antichrist.  But soon the 
            world discovered that his peace was only superficial and 
            temporary.

         3) The Seal Judgments

            The Antichrist was bent on conquering the world.  He had 
            easily conquered Europe by deceit and began the conquest of 
            the rest of the nations.  But other nations were not so
            easily overcome and soon a full scale world war broke out
            which caused tremendous destruction over the entire globe.

            Food supplies became critical because of the many destroyed 
            agricultural areas.  The famine was so severe over the 
            world that a man had to work one day just to earn enough 
            money to buy a day's meal for himself; his family often 
            went hungry.  During the war, chemical weapons and germ 
            warfare were utilized causing widespread disease.  Even the 
            wild animals were affected and those animals that survived 
            became savage towards men.  The casualties resulting from 
            the war, the famine, the plagues and the from the attacks 
            of the wild beasts accounted for the deaths of over one and 
            one-quarter billion people, one-fourth of the earth's 
            population (Rev 6:1-8).

            The Antichrist took advantage of the war and gained in 
            power and began to establish a one-world government.  He
            established his own religion and was opposed to the gospel
            of Jesus Christ and engineered one of the greatest 
            persecutions of Christianity the world had ever seen.  Many
            Christians were murdered, because they would not partake in
            the government sponsored one-world religion (Rev 6:5-11).
            Then the wrath of God was again poured out on all the world 
            because of its sin and rebellion against the Holy and True 
            One.


         4) The Trumpet Judgments

            God sent hail and fire mixed with blood down to the earth.
            Nuclear war continued and, "A third of the earth was burned 
            up, a third of the trees were burned up and all the green 
            grass was burned up" (Rev 8:7).

            As God continued to punish the earth and its people with
            each new judgment, He also continued to give man the
            opportunity to repent by allowing a period of time to pass
            before the next curse.  But instead of the unbelievers
            crying out to God for mercy, they, "...called to the
            mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the
            face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the
            lamb...'" (Rev 6:16).

            Jesus then turned one-third of the seas into literal blood,
            killing one third of the sea creatures.  He also caused
            one-third of the ships to be destroyed.  Then His judgment
            fell on a third of the rivers and springs of waters causing
            them to become polluted and many more people died (Rev
            8:10-11).  After a period of time Jesus reduced the hours of
            sunlight and moonlight by one-third, and even caused a third
            of the stars to turn dark (Rev 8:12).  Crops all over the
            world died because of the sudden imbalance between night and
            day.

            Life on earth had become very difficult.  Stealing, murder, 
            rape and sexual immoralities were common occurrences as law 
            and order began to "breakdown."  Still man did not turn to 
            God but continued to openly worship demons (Rev 9:20-21).
            Fittingly, Jesus then ordered the "Bottomless Pit" to be
            opened which allowed millions of wicked demons to infest the
            world.  This judgment was so severe that men and women tried
            to commit suicide but God would not let them die (Rev 9:1-6).

            Then the armies from the East began to march across the land
            to Israel the place of their final battle, "Armageddon."  The 
            army slaughtered over one billion people while enroute (Rev
            9:13-18).  At this point over one-half of the world's total
            population had been destroyed.


         5) The Two Witnesses (Rev 11:1-13)

            Our Most Beloved Savior continued to show mercy in the midst
            of His wrath when He sent two prophets to the earth to
            powerfully declare the truths of the gospel.  For three and
            one-half years these two brothers preached the Good News of
            salvation through Christ.  They also inflicted severe plagues 
            and droughts upon the earth as part of God's judgments.  Fire 
            destroyed anyone who attempted to take their lives.  

            Finally, God allowed them to be killed, and the people of the 
            earth were so pleased that they had worldwide celebrations 
            and sent gifts to one another.  They left the dead bodies of 
            these two saints lying in the streets of Jerusalem, refusing 
            them burial.  The entire world watched the bodies on 
            Satellite TV for three and one-half days.  Then Our Sweet and 
            Precious Savior raised them to life and caused them to ascend 
            up through the heavens in full view of a watching world.  
            Suddenly an earthquake "hit" Jerusalem and one-tenth of the 
            city collapsed.


         6) The Bowl Judgments

            Now, as the world's dictator, the Antichrist, demanded that 
            he and an image of himself be worshipped as god by all men.  
            He was aided by one who could perform many signs and wonders 
            by the power of the devil.  Because of his power he deceived 
            most people on earth and ordered that no one could buy or 
            sell any item unless they had the "Mark of the Antichrist" on 
            their forehead or right-hand.  These two also decreed that 
            anyone refusing to worship the Antichrist would be killed 
            (Rev 13).  Many dear brothers and sisters in Christ were 
            beheaded because they would not worship the Antichrist or his 
            image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or 
            their hands (Rev 20:4).

            God too had a mark, but only for the followers of the 
            Antichrist, "...ugly and painful sores broke out on the 
            people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image" 
            (Rev 16:2). God also gave men blood to drink!  Because the 
            world had shed the blood of God's saints and prophets 
            throughout history, Jesus turned the oceans, the rivers, and 
            the springs of water into real blood (which killed every 
            living thing in the waters) (Rev 16:3-7).

            The world was staggering under the weight of all of God's
            judgments, yet men and women still refused to repent and 
            glorify God.  God then caused the sun to scorch the earth and 
            its people with intense heat.  This judgment was quickly 
            followed by total darkness yet men and women, "gnawed their 
            tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of 
            their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of 
            their sins" (Rev 16:8-11).

            God then sent his final judgment upon the earth.  This was
            the most severe yet.  A violent earthquake occurred that was
            so strong that all the cities of the nations collapsed.  New
            York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, London,
            Copenhagen, Cairo, Rome, Paris, Moscow, Tokyo, Indianapolis, 
            yes every city of the world was destroyed by the earthquake!  
            Coupled with this was a terrible hailstorm that dropped huge 
            hailstones weighing about a hundred pounds each.  What was 
            man's response?  It was to curse God because the plague was so 
            terrible (Rev 16:17-21).

            Chaos reigned on the earth.  The food supply had all but
            disappeared, there was only blood to drink, and most of
            mankind was without shelter.  The only organizations that had
            any structure left were the armies that were fighting outside 
            of Jerusalem at the Battle of Armageddon.  The earth was 
            enclosed in utter darkness for the sun no longer shone and 
            the stars had disappeared.  It was cold and only the light 
            and heat of weapons exploding jarred the terror of the 
            continuous night (Mat 24:29).


 III. Second Coming of Christ

      While the earth was cloaked in darkness and terror, there was
      light and bliss up in the third heaven.  The redeemed of God
      had been there in their glorified bodies for seven years.  
      They were living in their Father's house, which is the New 
      Jerusalem, the vast city of beauty and light.  Each saint has 
      his own room designed and decorated by his God and Lord--Jesus 
      Christ.

      One day, suddenly there appeared something very unusual in
      heaven, horses, white horses which came silently and stately
      down the golden streets.  There were millions of them and each 
      horse seemed to know exactly where they were to go.  For one 
      white horse stopped by each room of the redeemed.  The saints 
      joyfully mounted their horses and all rode to the gates of the 
      city.  The horses and riders rode out through the pearly gates 
      and all gathered in columns outside the city.  Then Jesus 
      joined the army of saints riding His own white horse.

      On His head were many crowns and He was clothed in a robe 
      which had his name written on it: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF
      LORDS.  All of the saints and the chorus of angels sang praise 
      unto His Name.  He looked at the redeemed with a deep love in 
      His eyes and said, "Follow Me."  Although there were millions 
      upon millions of saints on white horses and all following 
      Jesus, each believer could see Jesus.  It was as if each was 
      riding right next to Him!  This is the way heaven is, for 
      although there is only one Jesus and He is in bodily form, He 
      seems to be visible and accessible to everyone at once.

      It was so wonderful that Our Precious Lord Jesus would allow
      His saints to be a part of that moment in history.  Jesus was 
      assembling His army to conquer the earth.  In His army were 
      the Holy Angels and all those who had hungered and thirsted 
      for righteousness.  There was Moses, Joseph, David, Bathsheba, 
      Rahab, Peter, James, John, Mary, Martha, and Paul.  I could 
      see Moody, Spurgeon, Billy Sunday, Billy Graham, and many 
      other great men and women of God.  

      But there was also great joy in seeing those in the Lord's 
      army who were former great sinners such as former homosexuals, 
      former murderers, former fornicators and former liars, all had  
      been redeemed and restored, and were sitting on their horses 
      dressed in pure white fine linen because of the cleansing 
      power of the Blood of Jesus Christ.  There were even those who 
      had never walked on the earth but were murdered by the act of 
      abortion, they too were sitting pure from the original sin of 
      Adam because of the Cross of Calvary.  What an incredible 
      sight it was!

      As we rode out we traveled faster than the speed of light and 
      suddenly, as Jesus turned His eyes to the earth they changed, 
      becoming like blazing fire.  We could then see the planet, but 
      the darkened sun did not illumine it; it was the light of 
      Jesus as He emanated a brilliant radiance (Rev 19:11).  Then 
      fire began to appear all around us, along with loud thundering 
      sounds and blinding flashes of lightning.


      A. Rider on White Horse (Rev 19:11-16)

         On earth, those fighting in the darkness of Armageddon were
         suddenly blinded by the light of Jesus Christ and His army.
         In an instant, the Lord Almighty came with, "thunder and
         earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest and
         flames of a devouring fire" (Isa 29:5-6).

         It was Isaiah who prophesied, "See, the Lord is coming with
         fire, and His chariots are like a whirlwind; He will bring
         down His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of
         fire.  For with fire and with His sword the Lord will
         execute judgment upon all men, and many will be those slain
         by the Lord" (Isa 66:15-16). 


      B. Return to the Earth

         1) Response of Those on the Earth

            Every eye on earth saw Jesus return and mankind began to
            mourn for their own lives knowing that the hour of judgment
            had come (Mat 24:30).  They fled, "...to caves in the rocks
            and to holes in the ground from the dread of the Lord and 
            the splendor of His majesty..." (Isa 2:19).

         2) Standing on Mount of Olives

            Jesus Christ, the King of the Earth, dismounted from His
            White Horse directly upon the Mount of Olives.  As soon as
            His feet touched the mountain it split in two, exactly as
            prophesied in Zechariah 14, "...His feet will stand on the
            Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives
            will be split in two from east to west, forming a great
            valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half
            moving south" (v. 4).

            When the mountain split it created a large valley which was
            called the Valley of Decision (Joel 3:14).


      C. Judgment of Earthly Wicked

         1) Armies Set to Attack Christ

            Then the Antichrist and "...the kings of the earth and their
            armies gathered together to make war against the rider on
            the horse and His army" (Rev 19:19)  It seemed incredible
            that those who were fighting on the earth could be confronted
            with the supernatural return of Jesus Christ from Heaven and
            yet turn their weapons on the Savior and His army as if God
            could be destroyed.


         2) Beast, False Prophet, and Armies Judged

            But before they could fire one weapon, the Lord struck 
            them with great fear and a plague that caused their flesh, 
            their eyes and their tongues to decompose while they were 
            still standing on their feet.  This caused great panic and 
            some soldiers attacked and killed one another (Zech 14:12-
            13). The Antichrist and the false prophet were then captured 
            and thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.  
            Then the rest of the wicked army was killed by the command 
            of Jesus.  Their flesh was given to be eaten by the birds of 
            the air (Rev 19:21).

      D. Chaining of Satan

         While the birds gorged themselves on the defeated armies, Satan 
         was captured, bound with a chain and locked away for 1,000 
         years.  The place of his torment is the "Abyss" which means the 
         "bottomless pit."  The demons were also bound with Satan, just 
         as Isaiah had revealed would happen when the Lord returned, 
         saying "In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the 
         heavens above...They will be herded together like prisoners 
         bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be 
         released after many days" (Isa 24:21-22).

      E. The Judgment of the Living

         Then all the remaining people, the noncombatants, of the 
         earth were transported to the Valley of Decision where Jesus 
         judged them.  He sat on a throne in all of His heavenly glory 
         and separated the people one from another, placing the 
         Christians on His right and the unbelievers on His left (Mat 
         25:31-33).

         Then King Jesus said to the Christians on His right, "Come,
         you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the
         kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world..."
         (Mat 25:34).  The kingdom He gave to them was the Millennial
         Kingdom that was about to begin.

         Then the King said to those on His left, "Depart from me,
         you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the
         devil and his angels..." (Mat 25:41).  Then the unbelievers
         went away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to
         eternal life (Mat 25:46).


      F. Thousand Years

         There was a 75 day transition time after the battle ended 
         before the 1,000 year reign of the Lord began.  In fact, it 
         took seven months just to bury the remains of the dead.  And 
         some of the weapons from the war were used for fuel in Israel 
         and lasted for seven years (Ezek 39:9-16).    

         1) Earth is Restored to Beauty

            Jesus began to remove the curse of sin from the earth.  The 
            earth was restored, every valley was raised up, every 
            mountain and hill was made low, and the rough ground became 
            level, the rugged places became a plain (Isa 40:4).   Mt. 
            Zion was established as the chief among the mountains; it was 
            raised above the hills (Isa 2:2).  The desert regions were 
            covered with many pools of waters from the new rivers and 
            springs.  Jesus set beautiful trees everywhere.  There were 
            pines, firs, cedars, olives, and many other kinds of trees 
            (Isa 41:18-19).  Beautiful flowers burst in bloom, just like 
            the crocus, all over the earth (Isa 35:1-2), and every land 
            was fertile and cultivated (Ezek 36:36).


         2) A Kingdom of Light

            The Millennium was truly a kingdom of light.  The moon was
            as bright as the original premillennial sun and the sunlight
            of the kingdom was seven times brighter than before, like
            the light of seven full days (Isa 30:26).  The night of 
            the Millennium was as bright as the old noonday sun.

         3) The Inhabitants of the Kingdom - Parents

            Now, the only people that were left alive in the Millennium 
            were the believing Gentiles and Jews.  The entire world 
            consisted of Christians with Jesus Christ reigning as the 
            King of the earth.  But there were also young unsaved 
            children who were under the age of accountability, who could 
            still choose to reject the gospel.  And the adult christians 
            had many children born during the Millennium who like all 
            children since Cain and Able, were born into the world as 
            sinners.

         4) The Inhabitants of the Kingdom - Children

            The children living in the Kingdom all needed salvation, but
            they were given plenty of opportunities to hear the gospel,
            for their parents were Christians, Jesus Christ was visibly
            on the earth as King, and there were a multitude of immortal
            glorified saints (you and me) ruling and reigning with Our
            Master Jesus Christ.

         5) Life in the Kingdom

            a) Long Life

               Most mortals who lived on the earth during the Millennium
               lived out their years (Isa 65:20).  Their life spans were
               like those in the days prior to the Flood when, for example,
               Methuselah lived for 969 years!  Those born at the beginning
               of the Millennium lived for 1,000 years.

            b) Death in the Kingdom

               Yet, there was death in the glorious Kingdom of Light, just
               as the Bible had revealed to us, "...he who dies at a
               hundred will be thought a mere youth...and he who fails to
               reach a hundred will be considered accursed [condemned to
               Hell]" (Isa 65:20).  Jesus gave children up to the age of 100
               to make a decision for Him and at that point, if they
               remained in unbelief, Jesus took their lives in judgment.

            c) Peace on Earth

               The earth was a place of great peace and safety just as God 
               had declared in the Book of Isaiah, "They will neither harm 
               nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be 
               full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the 
               sea" (Isa 11:9)

               Jesus was enthroned in His headquarters in Jerusalem; the 
               law went out from Zion, the word of the Lord went from 
               Jerusalem.  He judged between the nations and settled 
               disputes for many peoples.  The nations recycled their 
               weapons of war into farming equipment.  Nation did not 
               take up sword against nation, nor did they train for war 
               anymore (Isa 2:3-4).

            d) Peace in the Animal Kingdom

               Truly peace reigned everywhere, even in the animal kingdom.
               The lion did lie down with the lamb.  The wolf and the lamb
               fed together, and the lion ate straw like an ox (Isa 65:25).
               The wolf lived with the lamb, the leopard laid down with the
               goat, the calf and the lion and the colt together; and 
               little children led them around.  The cow ate with the bear  
               and the young calves and the cubs laid down together (Isa 
               11:6-7).

               Infants played near the holes of cobras, and young children
               put their hands into the nests of vipers to play with them 
               (Isa 11:8).

               Life in the Kingdom was indeed very blissful, and we the   
               immortal redeemed, were there assisting Our Savior in His 
               rule.  We were daily interacting with the mortals and enjoyed 
               with them this time of true peace on earth.


      G. Satan's Doom

         At the end of the one thousand year Kingdom, Jesus ordered
         Satan to be released from prison.  Immediately the devil
         went out to deceive the nations to make war against Jesus
         and His people.  Satan actually got an attacking force to
         surround the city of Jerusalem.  But fire came down from
         heaven and devoured them.  Satan was then thrown into the
         lake of burning sulfur, his final resting place, to be
         tormented for ever and ever (Rev 20:7-11).  The devil was
         never to be seen or heard of again.  He would never again  
         trouble God's people. Amen.

      H. The Total Destruction of Heaven and Earth

         Immediately following this judgment of Satan, Jesus then 
         removed all the mortal believers from the earth.  They were 
         translated into their glorified bodies and given their room 
         in the Father's House.  He then raised from the graves "the 
         rest of the Dead" (Rev 20:5).  These were those who had 
         died throughout the ages of time and had failed to believe 
         God's word for salvation.  They had been held in torment 
         since the day of their deaths, awaiting the day of final 
         judgment.

         Then God destroyed the earth and the heavens by fire.  The
         heavens disappeared with an explosive thundering sound; the 
         elements were destroyed by fire, melting in the intense 
         heat (2 Pet 3:10-12).


      I. Great White Throne Judgment (Rev 20:11-15).

         It was now time for God to judge the sins of all the       
         generations of unsaved people.  God brought them to stand 
         before His Great White Throne for judgment by Jesus Christ 
         who was seated there.  Each person was judged according to 
         what he had done in his life as recorded in the books.  
         These deeds were compared with God's perfect Word as He had 
         revealed it to each generation.  

         The judgment was simple.  The standard by which one could
         enter into heaven was a life on earth without one recorded
         sin.  One sin would result in the eternal judgment of Hell 
         and any additional sins would increase the amount of torment 
         and agony he would eternally receive.  As each person was 
         brought before the judge his sins were revealed.  Then the 
         Lamb's Book of Life was open to see if the person had allowed 
         Jesus to pay for their sins.  None were found to have trusted 
         Jesus for salvation.  Therefore, each unbeliever was found 
         guilty and then thrown into the lake of fire to be tormented 
         for ever an ever (Rev 20:11-15).

         As we, the redeemed watched, we knew that we too had sinned
         in our own earthly lives, but we remembered that at the
         Cross of Calvary all of our sins were charged to the account
         of the sinless one Jesus Christ.  Because He took our sins
         upon Himself our books of sins contained nothing but pure
         white blank pages, washed clean by the Blood of Jesus
         Christ.

         No one could ever fault the Judge Jesus at the Great White
         Throne for not showing mercy, for even as He sentenced the 
         unsaved to torment, one could clearly see the scars on His 
         hands and on His feet from the nails of crucifixion and the 
         scar in His side from the Roman spear.  Jesus offered mercy 
         to all when they were on earth and for those who desired to 
         remain in their sins He could only then give His wrath.


      J. Eternity

         After the Great White Throne Judgment only the Trinity, the
         angels, and the redeemed saints remained in Heaven.  The 
         old earth and heavens had been destroyed and all those who 
         had rejected Christ were forever bound in the Lake of Fire.
         Jesus then created a new heaven and a new earth and brought
         "the Father's House," the New Jerusalem down from heaven and
         placed it on the new earth.  Then God Himself came down to 
         earth to live forever with redeemed man (Rev 21:1-3).

         Life in the Eternal State is perfect.  There is no more 
         death, no more mourning, no more crying or pain (Rev 21:4).  
         But the most magnificent sight in all of Eternity is the 
         Precious Lord Jesus Christ.  His beauty is without equal and 
         His love for each believer is never ending.  We never tire 
         of worshipping Jesus and learning more about Him.

  
  IV. Conclusion

      We have heard the record of God's future accomplishments.  As 
      we now step backward in time to the present, the scenario I 
      have just painted has not yet occurred.  But the Scriptures are 
      clear, that it will indeed happen, with perhaps some slight 
      changes from this chronology.  It only awaits the Rapture of 
      the Church to set it all in motion.  And the Bible indicates 
      that this event could happen at any moment.

      What should be our response to these truths of Scripture?  
      What should we do from now until the Rapture?

      A. If Unsaved

         If you are not saved then seek salvation today.  There are
         no salvation opportunities after our moment of death.  The 
         Bible declares, "...man is destined to die once, and after 
         that to face judgment" (Heb 9:27).  Jesus Christ has 
         revealed these truths to warn you of the tribulations to 
         come.  He wants to cleanse you of your sins and receive you 
         into His Kingdom.  Repent of your sins, confess Jesus 
         Christ as Lord and Savior, receiving His glorious free gift 
         of salvation.


      B. If Saved

         1) Renewed Desire to Serve Jesus

            For those of us who are saved, we should feel humbled 
            that God would love us and save us from the wrath that 
            our sins deserve.  He will give us a new and glorious 
            body, a room in the Father's House, and an eternal 
            blissful future.  We should renew our dedication to Him 
            and strive to serve Him with all our mind, soul, and 
            strength.

         2) Renewed Compassion for the Lost

            Let us show compassion for the lost.  We have seen what 
            awaits the unbeliever when Jesus returns to the earth.  
            And those judgments, as terrible as they are, are mild 
            compared to the endless torment and agony of the eternal 
            Fiery Lake of Burning Sulfur.

            We must attempt, by the power of the Holy Spirit within 
            us, to live holy lives before our lost families, friends, 
            coworkers, and neighbors.  We are their only hope, for if 
            they do not see Jesus Christ in us, then they will not 
            see Jesus at all.  This will cost us, for we must be 
            different than the world in order to "stand out as light."


            a) Our Conversation

               Our speech must be gracious and yet seasoned with the salt 
               of the truths of the Bible.  In Ephesians 5:4 God reminds us 
               that for a Christian there must never be obscenity, foolish 
               talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather 
               thanksgiving."


            b) Our Life Styles

               We must be a holy people in order to lead others to Christ.

               In this age of sexual freedom God reminds the Christian that
               in our lives, "...there must not be even a hint of sexual
               immorality, or of any kind of impurity..." (Eph 5:3).

               In fact, God clearly tells us, what we should have uppermost
               in our thinking, "...whatever is true, whatever is noble,
               whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
               whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or
               praiseworthy--think about such things..." (Philippians 4:8).

               We must keep ourselves pure, for the evil one is constantly
               attempting to corrupt us.  Let us not be deceived, nearly all 
               that is on television, in popular magazines and in books today 
               are things that do not please God.  A Christian cannot be 
               entertained by the world and still please God.  To watch and 
               be entertained by TV murders, TV adulteries, TV violence, TV 
               drunkenness, and TV crime is to partake in what God calls sin.
               Even when we drive our cars we must maintain the high 
               Christian standard and never purposefully exceed the posted 
               speed limits.  Radar detectors have no place in a car 
               belonging to one of God's children.  
                

      C. Final Thoughts

         Jesus is coming back for us soon with the Rapture, at an
         hour when we least expect Him.  Once we are gone the horrors
         of the tribulation period will be unleashed.  Many of our
         loved ones, friends and acquaintances would be left behind to
         face God's wrath if Jesus came for us today.  He has
         privileged us to know the future and to play integral parts
         in His plan.  May we do all that we can by the power of the
         Holy Spirit to help those around us who are lost to share in
         the wondrous salvation we possess.


Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 130
Shreveport, LA 71110
MODEM (318)-949-1456
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