Brother Dan Blair called me the
night before last. We were talking on the phone and we were talking about what
we were going to preach for today. And he mentioned something about
preaching previously on the second coming of Christ. And I told
him that that is what I was going to deal with in the evening service
today. And we both came to the conclusion
that perhaps we should preach more often on the coming of Christ. I don't know how often. Maybe
once a month. That wouldn't be too much. Probably
not enough. Because there's so many promises
in the Scriptures concerning our Lord's coming. And so very
many warnings. So very many warnings to his
people to watch for him. And I'm afraid I'm afraid for
some that many are not watching for him. I'm afraid that many
will be like that foolish virgin who had no oil in her lamp when
the bridegroom came. Well, since the first days after
our Lord ascended back to heaven, Men and women have been talking
and speculating about his return. And thousands, even millions
of prophets and preachers and doomsday sayers have tried to
predict the time of his return. But that's not what I'm going
to do. That's not the approach I'm going
to take this evening. I'm not dealing with times and
seasons. Scriptures plainly say that it's
not given for you to know the times and the seasons. There
are many who doubt the very existence of the Lord Jesus Christ and
certainly doubt that he would come back, and certainly in the
manner that we read about a while ago. And it's not my intention
to try and prove that the Lord Jesus Christ exists or that he
will indeed come back. That's not my intention at all.
I only want to proclaim this evening. that he is coming back,
not based upon my word, but based upon his very word. When he swore, when he could
swear by no greater, the scripture said he swore by himself. So
I hope you have your Bibles ready. I want to show you several scriptures,
and then we'll dwell in Revelation 22 for a while. But I want to
show you six or seven or more scriptures pertaining to our
Lord's return. And as I said, it's just enough
to say that Christ Jesus the Lord is coming back. And it's given unto men to believe
it. The prophets just merely said, prepare the way. He's coming. Well, I don't believe it. Well,
I'm sorry. I wish you did, but he's coming.
He's coming. Many, many scriptures speak of
our Lord's second coming. Turn to Psalm, the book of Psalms. And look at Psalm 96 with me. Many scriptures speak of his
second coming, and many of them are found in the Old Testament.
Many Old Testament scriptures speak of his first coming, but
many plainly speak of his second coming. In Psalm 96, verse 13,
he says, He cometh to judge the earth.
And he shall judge the earth with righteousness and the people
with his truth, or according to the gospel, how they believe
the gospel. Then look over to Isaiah chapter
13. Isaiah chapter 13, you know,
the first time our Lord came, he didn't come necessarily to
judge it. He came to save. But the next
time he's come to destroy. Isaiah 13, look at verse 9. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh.
Isaiah 13, 9. The day of the Lord cometh cruel,
both with wrath and fierce anger. And we know this is speaking
of his second coming. To lay the land desolate, he
shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven
and the constellations thereof shall not give their light, the
sun shall be darkened and is going forth, the moon shall not
cause her light to shine, and I'll punish the world for their
evil and the wicked for their iniquity. And I will cause the
arrogancy of the pride to cease and will lay low the haughtiness
of the terrible. I'll make a man more precious,
hard to find, than gold, even a man more precious than the
golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore, I will shake the heavens,
and the earth will remove out of her place, and the wrath of
the Lord of hosts, and the day of his fierce anger." And then
Isaiah chapter 26. Look at this. Isaiah 26, verse
20. Come, my people, enter thou into
thy chambers. Shut the doors about thee. Hide
thyself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation
be overpassed." Verse 21, "'For behold, the Lord cometh out of
his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.
The earth also shall disclose her blood and shall no more cover
her slain.'" And in Isaiah 63, look at this. Isaiah chapter 63, verse 1, "'Who is this that cometh
from Edom with dyed garments from Basra, this that is glorious
in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength?
It is I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine
apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat?'
I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the people there
was none with me. For I will tread them in mine
anger, and trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be
sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my arraignment.
For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my
redeeming is come." And then our Lord himself, over
in Matthew 16, you can turn here if you'd like. Matthew chapter
sixteen, our Lord Himself, He spoke often of His return, quite
often. In Matthew sixteen, verse twenty-five, Matthew sixteen, verse twenty-five,
He said, Whosoever will save his life shall lose it. That
is, put all his eggs in this one basket. Whosoever will save
his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake
shall find it. But what is a man profited if
he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Oh, what
shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of
Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and
then he shall reward every man according to his works." And
in chapter 24 of Matthew, he says, In Matthew 24, verse 27,
he says, "...as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth
even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of
Man be." Verse 29, "...immediately after the tribulation of those
days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her
light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of
heaven shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign
of the Son of Man in heaven. And then shall all the tribes
of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming
in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he
shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they
will gather together his elect from the four winds from one
end of heaven to the other." Verse 37. But as the days of
Noah were, so shall it be. Also, the coming of the Son of
Man be, as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that
Noah walked into the ark, and knew not until the flood came
and took them all away. So shall also the coming of the
Son of Man be. And in verse 42, watch therefore,
for you know not what hour. your Lord doth come. But know
this, if the good man, the owner of the house, had known and what
watched the thief was coming, he would have watched, wouldn't
he? And would not have separated his house to be broken up? Therefore
be ye also ready, for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man cometh. Well, after Christ went back
to heaven, the apostles continually spoke of his return. Look at
1 Thessalonians, chapter 4. The apostles constantly exhorted,
warned, and spoke of the Lord's return. 1 Thessalonians 4, he
says in verse 16, The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with
a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of
God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are
alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be
with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another
with these words. But of the times and seasons,
brethren, you have no need that I write unto you. For you yourselves
know perfectly that the day of the Lord shall cometh as a thief
in the night. When they shall say, Peace and
safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon
a woman with child, they shall not escape. But you, brethren,
you're not in darkness that that day should approach you as a
thief, overtake you as a thief. You're all children of light,
supposed to be, the children of day. We're not as the night
nor of the darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as
do others. But let us watch and be sober."
Then turn over to Revelation 22, and we'll stay right there.
Revelation 22. Revelation 22. You know, some
people may say this with the people over in the book of 2
Peter. They said, where is the promise
of his coming? Where is the promise of his coming?
All things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. Where is the promise of his coming?
I hear all this talk about his second coming. Where is it? But
he says to the beloved, to God's people, be not ignorant of this
one thing. A day is a thousand years with
the Lord, and a thousand years is one day. The Lord is not slack
concerning his promise. In other words, he hadn't forgotten
his promise of his return, as some men count slackness. It's
just been that long since he left, to him. But he's long-suffering
to us-ward, not willing that any of his sheep, any of his
us-wards would perish, but that all his people should come to
repentance. And they will, all of God's people. But the day of the Lord will
come. Peter said, it will come, once again, as a thief in the
night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also,
and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Where is it? And all things continue. We'll look at Revelation 22,
verse 20. Revelation 22, verse 20, "'He
which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.'"
Who is speaking here? Who is speaking? Well, look back
and keep your place there, and look back at Revelation 1 that
we read a while ago for the Scripture reading. Revelation 1 says this
is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him to show
unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass. And blessed is he, in verse 3,
that readeth and heareth the words of the prophecy, and remember
and believe those things which are written times at hand. I want you to consider three
things with me based upon this Scripture here in Revelation
22. I want you to consider the last testimony and then the last
prophecy and the last prayer contained here in these two verses
here in Revelation 22. The last testimony, he said there
in Revelation 22, verse 20, he which testifieth these What things? What things? The last testimony,
who is speaking? The Lord Jesus Christ is speaking.
It's the Lord, fearful in holiness, glorious in his strength and
in his majesty. God is greatly to be feared in
the assembly of the saints. And this God, who is a consuming
fire, is speaking right now. We do well to pay attention.
He which testifieth these things," he testifies these things in
the testimony of God. God's last will and testimony
is concerning his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Testimony of God
is the gospel, none other than the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's said that in Hebrews chapter
one, that God, who at sundry times in diverse manners, fake
in times past, unto the fathers by the prophets, but he has in
these last days spoken unto us by his Son," or concerning his
Son. It's all about his Son. The testimony
of God is concerning his Son. Everything that God has to say
to this world has been said, and it's written right here in
this book, and it's concerning his Son. God's got no more to
say to us. He's not going to speak again
from heaven. It's like Brother Scott Richardson said one time.
He said, me and everywhere are wanting God to break his silence. Me and everywhere are wanting
God to speak, to show him a sign, to speak audibly from heaven.
He's not going to do it. Everything he said is right here.
And we're reading the last two verses, the conclusion of the
whole matter. And he says, he which testified
these things said, this is it. This is all that's written. It's
all that's going to be said, and it's all concerning the Lord
Jesus Christ, is who it's concerning. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
the testimony of God himself. God said, this is my beloved
son. Hear him. That's the last thing that God
has to say to this generation. He doesn't have any more prophecies
to say through so-called prophets and preachers. No more to say.
It's all been said. The story. is the old, old story
concerning his son. And the thing God says to us
now is the thing he's said to us for the last thousand years.
This is my son. Hear him. My beloved son. This is my righteousness. This
is the only way you're going to approach me. This is my son.
If you're going to get to me, if you want me to accept you,
you've got to go through my son. You've got to speak to my son.
He's the way, and Christ says it. Christ gives testimony to
himself and to the gospel, that God the Father gave testimony
to him, God the Spirit gave testimony to Christ, and Christ himself
testified of himself. And Christ said this, I'm the
way. I'm the way. You can't get to God any other
way but by me, solely by me. Only through my sovereign good
pleasure I have the keys of hell and death at my side. Nobody
gets to heaven, nobody gets to the Father, but by me I am the
way." That's the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says,
I am the truth. Everything else is a lie. Everything
every man upon this earth says is a lie, except that which pertaineth
to me and to my glory and to my salvation. Me, I am the truth. I am the life. He that has the
Son, that is, he that abides in me and I abide in him, has
eternal life. Nobody else. He that hath not
the Son hath not life. Christ said, I am the way, the
truth, and the life. That's the testimony of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He said, I'm the bread from heaven.
If any man eat, he'll never hunger again. He said, you must be born
again. You must be changed. You must
be born from above. God must radically, supernaturally
do something for you. You can't get to God on your
own. God's going to have to do something for you. You must be
born again. Christ said, I'm the water of
life, whom if any man drink of, he'll never thirst again. Drink
of the water of this world, you'll thirst again. If you drink of
me, you'll never thirst again. He said, I'm the light of the
world. People are in darkness. Except when I give them light.
I'm the source of light. I give all understanding. I give
all spiritual illumination. I'm the light of the world. You're
in total darkness. You're blind, except I reveal
the truth to you." He said, I'm the great physician. I'm the
great physician. I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance. I came not to call the well,
but to heal the sick. That is, the sick in sin. the
lame, to give sight to the blind, to raise the dead." I'm the great
physician, spiritual physician. He said, I'm divine. I'm divine. Without me, you're just dry branches
fit for the burning. Unless you're in Christ by faith,
unless Christ has got a hold of you and you've got a hold
of him, you're going to burn, Christ said. You're cut off.
You're cut off from life itself. He said, I'm all-powerful. Without
me, you can do nothing, absolutely nothing. You can't pray, you
can't worship, you can't repent, you can't come to God, you can't
even call on God, you can't believe on God, you can't do anything
without me, Christ said. I am all-powerful. I am that
I am. In other words, Christ was saying,
I am God. I am God. And that's who's speaking. That's who's speaking. And he's
the summary of all that God has to say to men and women upon
this earth. This is it. He which testified
these things, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that Christ
came to represent a people, to give them his perfect righteousness,
to take their sin upon him, to bear their punishment before
God, to make them acceptable. Accepted in the Beloved, that's
the testimony of God. He came to do just that, to make
himself a sacrifice, to make us accepted before the Father.
And the summary of all that he did and all that he says is this.
This is the record. This is the record that God hath
given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. And
that's it. That's it. If I closed up the
Bible now, you would have heard the gospel. Believe it. Christ is all God's going to
say anymore. He's the last testimony of God. Nothing, no more revelations,
no more visions, no more nothing until he comes with a trumpet
sound. He's here. This is all we've got. He says this, "'These things
have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son
of God.'" These things, did you notice when he read in Revelation
1, it was to the people, to God's people? Well, look at this, Revelation
22, verse 20. Look back at the text. He says,
"'He which testifieth these things.'" What things? The gospel concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. He which testified these things,"
that's the last testimony, "...saith," and here's the last prophecy, "...surely I come quickly." Surely. Have you ever noticed
in the Scriptures how many times the Lord says, "...verily, verily,
verily, verily I say unto you." I can say something to you and
you not believe it. Somebody can, as they like to say, swear
on a stack of Bibles and you still not take it as being the
truth. But when he speaks, it's true. It's going to come to pass. It
already has come to pass in his own mind. And he says, surely,
parenthesis, there ain't no doubt about it, he said. Verily, certainly,
verily, I say unto you, this know assuredly, this is a faithful
saying, this is a true saying, for ever, O Lord, thy word is
settled in heaven." What God said is written with an iron
pen and a rock. He said, this right here can't
be erased. It says on up there, if any man
take away from the words of the prophecy or add to them, God
will take him away. God says, I've spoken it. I'll
also bring it to pass. And he says, surely, I come. Notice he didn't say, I'm coming.
He says, quickly. Because of the certainty of it,
because it's so certain, it's as if it's already done. Surely,
I come. You know, he's here now in his
spirit. He doesn't say certain great
events. He says, I'm coming. He's not talking about revolution
or wars. He said, I come. He's not talking
about famine or pestilence, although it is coming. It's here already.
We're seeing it. He says, I'm coming. He's not
talking about Armageddon here, although there may be one. Nobody
really knows, but he says, I'm coming. I come, I myself in person,
I'm coming down to this situation. We've said before that these
other things like Hurricane Hugo and all that, the least of men's
worries, he's coming. We read it that his voice is
the sound of many waters when a trumpet shall sound. What's
that trumpet going to sound like? The King, the Judge, the Conqueror,
the Avenger, the Bridegroom, the Son of Righteousness, the
Son of God has come. It says there quickly, quickly,
in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, it says this throughout
the Scriptures. As a thief in the night, in a time when you
think not, he comes quickly. He's here. He's here. You know, men, we're all procrastinators,
aren't we? Everything we procrastinate concerning
everything put it off to the last minute scripture says today
is a day of salvation as long as God's as long as Christ sits
at the right hand of the father It's still the day of salvation
when he's coming It's over. It's gone. It's too late Wait,
Lord, I believe not No time Sorry no time for anything
when he's here The Scripture speaks of harvest is past. You
remember this Scripture? The harvest is past. Summer's
ended and the people say, we're not saved. You know, it doesn't say when
he's coming. It just says he's coming quickly.
Coming quickly. My life, by God's standards,
three score and ten, is one year short of being half over. Some
of you, it's three-fourths the way over, or more. Some of you,
it's over. It's over. Living on borrowed time. All our time is borrowed. But he says, our Lord said there
in Matthew 24, he says, There arise false Christs and
false prophets and show great signs and wonders insomuch that
if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." He said,
Behold, I've told you before. I've told you before. And you
know, he doesn't tell us when he's coming because we'd put
it off for the last minute, wouldn't we? If we knew the exact time
when he's coming, we'd put it off for the last minute. We go
on about our business in this world, much like we do now, and
put it off to the last minute. When He's coming, get good and
ready. Okay, I'll not, you know, I'll get my house in order and
now I'll seek the Lord. Well, it doesn't say when. It's
just enough to know that He's coming. He's coming. And thirdly,
lastly, the last prayer. Look at this, Revelation 22,
verse 20. He which testified these things,
what things? The gospel concerning the Lord
Jesus Christ, the testimony of God, the last word, the last
prophecy of God, the Spirit of Jesus. The testimony of Jesus
is the spirit of prophecy. Christ is God's last word to
men. Believe on my Son. Come to me through my Son, or
you'll not come to me at all. My son is your righteousness,
or you have none. You can't come into my presence."
He's the last testimony of God. He was testified, these things
said, I'm coming. That's the last prophecy. I come
quickly. Let there be no mistake about
it. Surely, I come. And listen to the last prayer
here. Look at everybody. Verse 20. Amen. Ain't much said there, is it?
Amen! Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen! What will be your reaction in
that day? You say, I don't know, you know,
it's not here. Well, what's your reaction to
that scripture now? Well, you know, your reaction
then will be the result of your reaction right now to the gospel.
When you hear these things, do you say, Amen? Even so, that's
the way it is. Come, Lord. Scripture says, he that is unjust
in that day will be unjust still. Cut off from the just and righteous
God. Scripture says, he that is filthy
is going to be filthy still. He that does not love Jesus Christ
now will not love him then. In fact, they will hate the very
sight of his coming. It says in the Scripture we read
it there, they are going to mourn when they see him coming. He that does not fear him now
will be scared to death when he comes in. He says, is this
any good kind of preaching here like this? Knowing therefore
the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved. He's coming. Prepare ye the way
of the Lord. Surely he comes. Amen. Even so,
come quickly. Come, Lord Jesus. He that does
not pray now We'll start praying then. But the prayer is going
to be unlike anything we've ever heard. Oh, rocks! Oh, hills fall on us and hide
us from the face of Him. What is God's reaction to that
prayer? He answers prayers now. Today is the day of salvation.
Christ hasn't come back yet. So you're an alarmist. I wish
I could sound the alarm like it needs to be sounded. What is God's reaction going
to be, God's reaction to that prayer then? He answers prayer
now. Mercifully, graciously, now is the day of grace, of mercy,
of salvation. Come unto me, Christ, come. Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. You'll be
changed. Believe, come. Rest, trust, fall
at His feet, begging for forgiveness. Love changed me. Now is the time."
He answers prayer now. He'll answer that prayer. He
got his promise. He'll answer it. Call on the
name of the Lord and thou shalt be saved. Call! But his reaction is going to
be quite different then. God says, in that day when they
start calling, I'm not going to hear them. Now what he said
in Proverbs 1, and that day they're going to call on me and I'll
not hear them. And furthermore, he said, I will
laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear come
up. He says, you will call upon me,
but I will not answer. For the Lord's sake, may I perish. I'm serious. He says, I come. Surely, I come. At a time when
you think not. Does anybody in here really think
the Lord's coming tonight? I mean, really. Does anybody
think so? I'll be honest with you, I don't
think so. He says at a time when you think not. There he is. Surely I come quickly, he says. And by God's grace and by God's
mercy. Some are able, by his grace and
by his mercy, to say, Amen. Even so, come on. The sooner
the better by me. Come, Lord. Come on. And I ask you, what is your prayer? Do you pray
now? Do you ask him to come? Come to you, come back. Have you heard this word of promise? Have you heard his testimony?
Have you heard the gospel? I know you've heard it with these
ears. I know everybody in here has heard it at least once. You
heard it tonight. So we're accountable one time
with these ears. Do you believe the testimony
of God concerning his Son? Your life reveals it, whether
you do or you don't. You're either worshiping him
now or you're not, and therefore you're perishing, condemned already. Well, he says here in Benediction,
verse 21, he says, of our Lord Jesus Christ be with
you all. Amen. And the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ is with all that say Amen. Everyone that says
Amen, even so, come. Why is that? Why do they say
that? The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with those people. God in grace has shown them has
revealed unto them the testimony of Jesus Christ. God in grace
has revealed to them that he is coming. He's as good as here. And God in grace and mercy has
given them a heart to pat after him as the heart pants after
the water brooks. Come on. Come on. Come on. You know, it's not enough
to or it's not right reason or motive to want the
Lord to come back just to merely get us out of our troubles. That's
not enough. Everybody wants a sugar daddy,
you know, everybody wants a fire escape, everybody wants out of
their troubles. But if you can see him as he
is, if God in mercy and grace has shown you the beauty of his
person and his gospel is your only hope and you can say, and
sincerity that you long to see Him, to win Him, to know Him,
to be found in Him, to be in Him at His coming. That's the
true, proper motive and attitude, right? Amen. Even so, come, Lord. I hope He comes tonight. I hope
He comes tonight. Wouldn't that be great if He
could just come right now? Just come on right now. Right now. He's coming. He's coming. Stand with me and
I'll dismiss this in prayer. Thank you. Thank you.