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[0:00] We will be looking in Revelation 19, starting in verse 11, going to the end of the chapter, which is verse 21, and we will be looking at the second coming of Christ. So if you're physically able and desire to do so, I'm asking you to join with me as we stand together.

[0:14] If there is one portion of Scripture in which we ought to stand, one portion of Scripture in which we ought to anticipate, it should be this one, my friend, because the next time when this thing happens, we will be sitting and not standing.

[0:27] We will be sitting, and you will see in just a moment where we will be sitting at, but now we will stand for those of us that are able, and we will read the word of God. Revelation 19, starting in verse 11, and it says, And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called, let me start all over, and I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and wages war.

[0:55] His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written on him which no one knows except himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God.

[1:10] And the armies which are in heaven clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it he may strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, and he treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty.

[1:26] And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of commanders, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free men, and slaves, and small and great.

[1:53] And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies assembled to make war against him who sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet, who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast, and those who worshipped his image.

[2:10] These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword, which came from the mouth of him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

[2:23] Let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much for this day you have given us. Lord, what a privilege it is to gather together as the people of God. Lord, as the church of God, to be able to open up the word of God, and to see what it says of things to come.

[2:37] Lord, we pray that we have not just read it with expectation, but Lord, that we expect for you to speak to us at this moment. Lord, that you would draw us closer to you through your very word. And Lord, that you would help us to become more conformed to your image for your glory and honor.

[2:50] And we ask it all in Jesus' name. And amen. You may be seated. Revelation 19, starting in verse 11, and going to the end of the chapter, which gets us to verse 21.

[3:01] This morning, I want us to see the second coming of Christ. All of Scripture is pointing to this event. All of Scripture is pointing to this coming. He came once in humility.

[3:11] He came once as a suffering servant. He comes the second time as the reigning king. This is what Revelation has been leading up to. We have been looking at the judgments of God on the sin of the world.

[3:24] We have been looking at God's retribution judgments for man's rejection. And we have seen that in those judgments, God is gracious. In those judgments, He is merciful, continuously giving man an opportunity to repent.

[3:37] We are reminded of the Scripture that says, striking yet healing. That many times, God allows the wages and the consequences of our sin to bring about a temporary suffering so that we may repent for eternal life.

[3:50] And we see Him doing that in Revelation. Calling man's attention to himself. First and foremost, with the rapture of the church, calling His people home, leaving a void in the world in which they live.

[4:02] But the world will not have a vacuum. So that void was filled with the presence of Satan and his legions of demons. And it was filled with the beast and the false prophet and those who came to seek and to lead those around them.

[4:15] And God is continuously judging. And we've got to this point in Revelation 19 where now that time of judgment has come. That time of judgment is over. And now we are fit and ready for the battle of Armageddon.

[4:28] The way has been prepared. The people have been stirred. The world has chosen their leader. The leader they have chosen is the beast himself. The one who is empowered by that Satan. That serpent of old.

[4:39] The one whose fulfillment comes through the pits of darkness. The legions of demons and fallen angels are there stirring the world to fit them and prepare them for this final battle.

[4:50] And now we are ready for that coming. Because the stage is set. And the battle is about to begin. I remember earlier this week I was sharing, or this past week I was sharing with the kids and Carrie there.

[5:03] We were sitting around the table. Some people say, well every time I call you we're sitting around the table. And I say, well I linger long at the table, right? I spend a lot of time at the table, in case you can't tell. And I linger long at the table.

[5:14] I think some of the best conversations any family can ever have are sitting around the dinner table. Is staying there for just a while. Sitting and talking a while. A lot of times, you know, when you're through with your plate, push it away and talk and have a conversation.

[5:25] And I remember we got to talking about this because my mind had just been caught upon it. I said, you know, man has made such a big deal out of this great last battle. I mean, we've made movies over it. We've made pictures of it.

[5:36] We've wrote books about it. And we've made such a great drama out of it. But the reality is, is when we read it in Revelation 19, it doesn't seem to be much of a battle. Because it's more about his coming than it is about the world's fighting.

[5:49] It's more about his appearing than it is about the world's revolting. The battle is there. And the battle is over in a moment. And we'll get to that. But we do not want to see a revelation of a coming battle. We want to see the revelation of a coming king.

[6:01] And it is the revelation of Jesus Christ. So I want you to see a number of things from this passage this morning. Number one, I want you to see the wonder of his coming. The wonder of his coming.

[6:13] The fact that we will be awestruck by him. I believe even as we come with him, we will be awestruck at who he is. It is the wonder of his coming. We have so much written in scripture of the first coming of Christ.

[6:26] There are so much written in scripture of the second coming of Christ. Many have said that at the first appearing, Jesus Christ fulfilled every prophecy which spoke of his first appearing. From the place he was born, to the exile he had in Egypt, to the life that he lived, to the things that he did.

[6:42] Every prophecy that speaks of his first coming was fulfilled. Bible scholars will tell you there are twice as many prophecies concerning his second coming. And guess what?

[6:52] He will fulfill them all. If he fulfilled it once, he is twice as likely to fulfill it the second time. And here we are introduced to this event, then when it finally happens. And we must stand in the wonder of his coming.

[7:05] It says, And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. And in righteousness he judges and wages war.

[7:16] Now we see the door of heaven open. Heaven is not opening to let John see in. He is not looking through a window. He is not being called up into heaven. No, the door of heaven is open so that the king may leave the courts of heaven and take his stand on the world below him.

[7:31] He is opened up so that he could walk to his claim. To go claim that which rightfully belongs to him. Friend, I want you to understand something. What we see in Revelation is a culmination of events.

[7:44] We've looked at that over and over again. When we see man in all of his sin and his rebellion and his rejection. These are things that are already happening. But in that last day they will happen to the uttermost.

[7:56] They will bring their final fulfillment. It is the culmination of man's wickedness. These things are transpiring now. And if they are already the birth pangs of the things to come, how much more will man revile or revel and relish them then?

[8:13] And we see the fulfillment of that. The battle that we see in Revelation 19 is a battle that has already been fought. And Jesus Christ is just coming to claim his victory.

[8:24] He fought that battle when he walked this world at his first coming. He fought that battle when he died on the cross of Calvary. He fought that battle when he came out of the tomb and rose victorious.

[8:35] But he has not claimed that victory yet. That is God's patience. That is God's waiting. And we see the wonder of his coming. That heaven opens up in a white horse. We've already been introduced to a white horse earlier in Revelation.

[8:48] And he who sat on it then was one of deceiving nature. This is not one of deception, but one that is called as faithful and true. And in righteousness he judges and wages war.

[9:00] I want us to understand this. That in his first coming Jesus came lowly and meek and mild. He came as it says in Mark 10 verse 45. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.

[9:15] He came as a servant to the lowest of mankind. He came as a servant to all who would receive him and even those who rejected him. He came to give his life as a ransom for many.

[9:25] But friend, listen, when he comes the second time, he comes in no such way. He comes in righteousness. He comes in truth. And he comes to wage war and to reign as king.

[9:37] It says, And his eyes are a flame of fire. And on his head are many diadems. And he has a name written on him which no one knows except himself. What do we see here? His penetrating look.

[9:49] We are reminded of his authoritative power. Really, the wording of many diadems is just stating that he has the right to rule. I had a great conversation. I love, by the way, if you ever just want to sit down and talk the Bible, I love talking scripture.

[10:01] I do. I just love talking scripture. I had the opportunity to do that this morning. I have the opportunity a lot of times to do that following some of our service. I love questions. I might not always have the answer to those questions.

[10:12] And it may take me a couple of weeks to get to those answers. But that's okay because I love iron sharpening iron. I had a great conversation last week speaking of Jesus' right to rule.

[10:23] And when we read the scripture, the genealogies of Christ that we seem to say, Oh, why do we have to read these genealogies? Why do we find the genealogy of Christ recorded in Matthew? And then why must we read the genealogy of Christ again recorded in Luke?

[10:35] Anybody ever wonder why genealogies of Christ are not existent in Mark and John? Anybody remember? Well, it's because in Matthew, he is a descendant of the lineage of David, right?

[10:47] In Luke, he takes his lineage all the way back to the son of man. In Mark, he is the son of God. And in John, he is God in the flesh. But anyway, so that was just a complete side note to our side note.

[10:59] Those are good things. We'll just have this conversation. Talking of his many diatems, his right to rule, in the genealogy of Matthew, we find a man named Jeconiah. Jeconiah is of the lineage of David.

[11:10] But Jeconiah's name in the lineage of Matthew should pique our interest a little bit. Because if you go read your Old Testament, when the nation of Israel was sent to captivity, when King Nebuchadnezzar came in and Nebuchadnezzar led the people captive, God pronounced a curse upon Jeconiah.

[11:29] And the curse was that no lineage of Jeconiah would ever reign in Jerusalem or ever reign over his people. That it would not happen that way. That God said, you're not going to reign.

[11:39] But then we read the rest of our Old Testament and we see that the lineage of Jeconiah continues to reign, even in captivity, even in Babylon. And when they leave Babylon, the lineage of Jeconiah is reigning over the nation of Israel.

[11:53] Now, I don't know if this surprises you or not, but man does not always recognize what God has said. Just because God said so doesn't mean that man's going to do so, right? God pronounced a curse on Jeconiah, but man still saw him as the legal right to the throne, and he maintained that legal right.

[12:11] So, if Jesus is from the lineage of Jeconiah, and according to Matthew, he is, he has a right to reign legally over the nation of Israel.

[12:22] But not in the courts of heaven, because God says no descendant of Jeconiah will reign. So, then we get the descendants of Jesus, or the lineage of Jesus recorded for us in the book of Luke.

[12:32] And Luke gives us this lineage of Jesus through Mary. And in that lineage, the descendant of David does not flow through Jeconiah. It flows through another brother, or another child of David, which never sat on the throne.

[12:48] Why? Because David made a promise, or David received a promise from God that his descendant would reign on the throne, and yet Jeconiah was pronounced cursed. All this to say, the many diadems of Christ.

[13:01] Jesus, through his earthly adoptive father, has the legal right to the throne, through Jeconiah, but not the right in the courts of heaven. In the courts of heaven, that lineage must flow through David, which is not to go through the seed of Jeconiah.

[13:19] Therefore, Mary, who was a descendant of David, does not flow through Jeconiah. So Jesus has the right to rule legally, and he has the right to rule spiritually, and he is the only one that can prove it.

[13:33] I know I took you through a long thing to say this. When he comes that second time, he will claim that throne, which is rightfully his. And he can prove it through the many diadems that are on him. And the reason I love so much discussion of Christ, look at this thing.

[13:47] It says, he has a name written on him, which no one knows but himself. What does this tell us? That no matter how much man thinks they have him figured out, he is indescribable and unsearchable.

[13:58] I love S.M. Lockridge's things, That's My King. If you ever look up that video, and I know I've told you to before, he goes into this five-minute description of Jesus Christ.

[14:09] That's My King. And I should have played it for you this morning. And at the end of it, he says, Oh, I wish I could describe him to you. And the reason he says that, after a five-minute description of what Jesus is like, he says, I haven't even touched the hem of his garments.

[14:25] Because no matter how much we have him figured out, no matter how much we have him planned out, he still has a name which no one knows but himself. That is, he is unsearchable. Friend, we will take the ages upon ages upon ages in eternity, learning more and more and more about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

[14:44] We do not know all that we can know about him. And we will stand in wonder at his coming, because we'll see him as never before. Many of you may have. I just reached one of those great pinnacle ages, right, where you had to go renew your license.

[14:57] I turned 40. It's a real humorous event around my house. Everybody thinks that's funny, because I turned 40. I don't know why so many commercials are for men 40 and over, but they are. So now that's a real humorous thing in my house.

[15:08] So when I reached that time, I had to go get my license changed. So I have one of those gold star license, right? And the gold star license, your license has to be completely accurate. I was blessed with four names when I was born.

[15:20] My name is William Joseph Corlett Calvert. I know you call me Billy Joe. That's not even my legal name, but my name is William Joseph Corlett Calvert. So I did the great thing that all dads should do, and I blessed one of my children with four names.

[15:31] Ethan has four names. He's Ethan Fisher Corlett Calvert. And the reason that's such a blessing is because nobody can ever fit your entire name on anything. So now my license finally has all four of my names.

[15:44] Because if you have two middle names and somebody asks you for your middle initial, what are you going to put? I put JC. That's pretty cool. JC. Joseph Corlett. That's mine. But anyway, because of that license, I had to have, they did it wrong.

[15:58] I'm sitting there in the DMV. I didn't have an appointment. By the way, highly recommend that now. I didn't have an appointment. I had a CDL, so I had to go in person to do it. So I'm sitting there waiting, and the lady working with me was very, very gracious and very kind.

[16:10] And after waiting for about an hour outside in the heat, I got to get inside the building, and we got to do this thing. And they got it situated, and she went through it for me. She goes, oh, I forgot to put your other middle name on there.

[16:21] So I had to redo my license, because with the gold star, you have to be fully known. Everybody has to know all your names, right? All your also known as.

[16:33] Listen, friend, there is no gold star to Christ. We don't know all about him. We do not have him all figured out, because even when he comes that second time, he still has a name written on him, which no one knows but himself.

[16:46] So the moment we think we have Jesus figured out, let us turn to Revelation 19 and go, oh, yes, but there's still that one name. And names are what descriptive in nature. Each of my names means something to me, because each of my names represent someone else in my family.

[16:59] Each of my names represent someone that I was named after, and they are descriptive in nature. And we understand here the wonder of his coming. He's coming to rule. He's coming to reign, and he's coming even still in shrouded mystery, and that is not a bad thing.

[17:15] We stand in wonder at his coming. Number two, we notice the warriors which follow him. We notice the warriors which follow him. Look at what it says. It says that he is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God.

[17:27] So his robe, his white robe is dipped in blood. We don't know which blood this is. Is this the blood from the battle, or is this the blood of the Lamb? We don't know, and we're not going to try to know. We're just going to understand that that's the apparel he wears.

[17:39] But look at what we wear. Verse 14 very quickly says, In the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. Now that's us, right? Surely angels will come.

[17:50] Surely some of the living creatures of heaven will come. But those that we have found in Revelation that are clothed in fine linen, white and clean, that's the church. That's the redeemed. That's the Old Testament saints, the tribulation saints, and even the church age saints.

[18:02] So here we have a picture of the redeemed. One thing we notice is that we are clothed in fine linen, white and clean. Our robes are not dipped in blood. Why? Because we have already been washed in blood.

[18:13] Our robes are white because of the blood. So they're not dipped in blood because it's not for us to have. And it says that they are following him, riding on white horses. That battle of Armageddon, by the way, this is the only thing it says about you and I.

[18:26] If we are believers in Jesus Christ, if we have acknowledged him as our Lord and Savior, the only thing we know about that day when he comes again is that we're on horses, white like his, following him.

[18:36] So where he goes, we go. As he goes, we go, right? He's on a white horse, we're on a white horse. What he's wearing, we're wearing, minus the blood. But we do not do anything. The reason we can wear white to that battle is because we're not fighting that battle.

[18:51] The reason we wear white and clean robes of fine linen is because we're not really going to do anything but observe that battle. We're coming with him. Some Bible scholars, and I believe it was John Phillips, who said that Jesus didn't need our help to win the victory the first time on the cross, and he will not need our help to claim his prize the second time at his coming.

[19:10] We were there as the receivers of the victory, which he won on the cross. He did it on his own, and we will be there as observers of the claim that he claims that second time he comes, and he will do it on his own.

[19:21] He does not need the help of the legions of angels, which he could call. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he said, do you not know that I have at my disposal legions upon legions of angels? And he told his disciples, I don't need your help. Peter, put your sword away.

[19:32] Peter, I don't need you hacking people's ear off. I don't need you to help me out in a tough situation. And when he comes for that great battle of Armageddon, the reality is he will not need our help then. But where he goes, we go.

[19:42] As he goes, we go. And we are there as observers. Because, friend, when he comes that time and he sets foot on this earth, then we lead into this next thing we will see in the book of Revelation, and that is the millennial reign of Christ.

[19:53] The whole reason we come is because we want to be with our Savior. So this is the reality, is if we don't want to be with him now, why do we think we would want to be with him then? If we are not content to follow him now and see how he works and to see what he does and to watch how he works and to watch how he behaves, then why do we think that we would be content that day?

[20:12] I know people who believe they're in the Lord's army and I'm great with that and some people are very militaristic in mind and they have different interpretations of this and they're genuine believers, but they're also kind of preppers that think, I think that battle of Armageddon, I'm going to fight in.

[20:25] And my truth to that is, when I open up scripture, that battle of Armageddon, I'm just going to watch because it's not my battle. I have a Lord who's going to reign and a Savior who keeps me from fighting that battle.

[20:38] I'm not fighting my battle with sin. I'm going to surrender myself to him and allow him to remove that sin from me. I'm not going to fight my way to salvation because he has already won my salvation. I'm going to accept that free gift and I'm not going to fight that battle of evil that day because only Jesus Christ can win that battle against evil.

[20:55] And that's exactly what he's coming to do. So we see the warriors which follow him. Number three, we see the weapon of his choosing. The weapon of his choosing. Throughout the book of Revelation, we have seen God use a number of tools at his disposal to get man's attention.

[21:10] I mean, think about the things we have seen throughout Revelation. The breaking of the seven seals, the sounding of the seven trumpets, and the pouring out of the seven bowls. In each one of these, God is using different tools at his disposal.

[21:22] God is not limited in how he can move and act. Some people have a hard time with the miracles of Christ. Some people try to dispute the reality of miracles. But then when we do that, we are saying that God is limited in his activity.

[21:36] God is limited in what he can do. I like some Bible scholars who say, I don't need to know if a whale can swallow a man. You know, Jonah in the whale's belly, right?

[21:47] I don't need to know if science can tell me that a whale can swallow a man. All I need to know is that Jesus said that Jonah was in the belly of a great fish for three days and three nights and he was spit out again, right?

[21:57] Jesus gave that attestation to that. And if Jesus is who he says he is in Scripture, then all I know is that if that is who Jesus is, then I know that God can at least create one great fish that could swallow a man and keep him in there for three days and then spit him back out.

[22:14] It is not does science show me that this can happen. It is does the truth testify to me that God could make it happen. I don't need to know if man can walk on water. I just need to know that man can walk on water.

[22:25] I don't need to know if water can be turned into wine in an instance. All I need to know is that man can turn water into wine in an instant. I don't need to know if man can feed the 5,000 with just a sack lunch. All I need to know is this man can do it.

[22:37] We understand this. He has the power to do it. All of these things are at his disposal. He can do whatever he wants to do whenever he wants to do it. And we have seen in the book of Revelation that he can use the stars in heaven, the sun, the waves, the sea, the springs of water, the rivers on the land.

[22:53] He can use hailstone. He can use all these things to get man's attention. So when he comes back to fight this last battle, what weapon will he use? Because at this point, he has used a number of things.

[23:06] He has had great boils break out on men's skin. Men have cried out, oh, mountains fall on us, but they won't. They refuse to. They want to die, but God will not let them die. And over and over again, we see God using this.

[23:16] So we must think, what will he use? What weapon will he use? Friend, all of these things will be used to get men's attention. But there's only one tool in which God uses to pass man's final judgment.

[23:31] And we see it here. It says in verse 15, Look at verse 21, Here is the tool, the weapon that he chooses, the sword which comes out of his mouth.

[24:00] I worked with a gentleman one time many years ago. He's a great believer. He brought a picture in one time that his son had drawn while reading the book of Revelation.

[24:11] And he had drawn a picture of Christ, a very detailed picture of Revelation 19, the second coming, the white horse. I mean, his kid was a phenomenal artist. He had the eyes of fire. And he had this sword coming out of the mouth of Jesus.

[24:22] And it looked real peculiar, really. But he just drew what he literally read. We don't need to be confused here. Jesus is not coming back with a sharp, pointy object coming out of his mouth and going to swing his head around and slay the nations, right?

[24:35] Because the word sword here is the same one we find in the armor of God, the sword of the Lord. It is literally the word of God. Jesus says, Do not be deceived. It is not I who judges you, but it is the very word of...

[24:47] Or do not be deceived. It is not I who judges you, but it is the very word of God which judges you. You know that which will condemn man to the eternal death? The word of God. We, as the people of God, as believers in Jesus Christ, will stand before the Son of God and have a judgment for the believers where he will judge our works.

[25:06] He will judge what we have done from the moment we have been redeemed. And we will suffer loss. We will have all of our works passed through the fire. And those things which endure will be ours for all of eternity. Those things which must be consumed will be consumed.

[25:18] So we will pass before that because of our works. For the unbeliever, those who stand before him, there's only one thing that will judge them. God will open up for them or he will show them, where do you stand according to my word?

[25:31] I don't care how much good you've done. I don't care how much work you've done. I don't care how much you've done this. I don't care how much you've done that. Where are you according to my word? And that is the standard. The sword which he uses or the weapon of his choice is the word of God.

[25:45] And it is the very word because it says here that he is called the word of God. It says that his name is called the word of God. He is the word. I am reminded of when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane.

[25:58] John records for us seven great I am statements throughout the book of John. And when Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane and they come in with clubs and spears and swords and Judas Iscariot is leading this great multitude in and they ask Jesus, Jesus says, whom do you seek?

[26:13] And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus gave an answer and it says, I am he. But in the original language it literally says, I am. So he named the name of God, right? He just said, I am. That's Yahweh. So he says, I am.

[26:25] And it says that when he said that, everyone fell down. And Jesus had to tell them to get up. He said, if you're looking for me, get up and take me. This is the power of the word. All he did was say the name of God and everybody with the swords and the spears and the clubs and the lanterns, they all hit the ground because his word is powerful.

[26:43] And they could not take him until he told them, now get up, let's go, let's do what you're supposed to be doing, right? You're supposed to take me to catch it, so let's go. So we see the power. He didn't need any help with the sword because the weapon of his choosing, friend, the way he penetrates to the very joints and divisions of the hearts and the marrow in your life is still the word of God.

[27:02] He doesn't come to you with a club beating you over the head making you feel bad. It's when you open up the word of God the convicting power of the spirit makes you feel bad, right? And so many of us say, well, every time I open up the scripture, I feel bad.

[27:13] And I'll just say, well, join the club. And that's what he uses. That's the tool of his choice. He will use circumstances to push us to the word of God. He will use situations in our life to push us to the word of God because the weapon that he wants to use to shape and form us is the word of God, which means if we neglect the word of God and someday we will not let, if we neglect the word of God today, it will not shape us to who we ought to be today and we will stand in judgment by the word of God someday.

[27:41] This morning, I had the opportunity to go sit down with some of our young adults and talk about Bible translations and why the Bible was important and how I got to, I used the New American Standard Bible and why I did that and I shared with them, I believe a literal interpretation of scripture is very, very important.

[27:55] Why? Because this is what he says he's going to use to judge all men when he comes back. So I need to know what it says and so do you because the weapon of his choosing is the very word of God.

[28:13] Fourth and finally, we notice the war won in a moment. I love this great picture because it shows us the power of the word. Look at what verse 18, well, verse 17 and 18 really have this announcement.

[28:29] Verse 17 says, then I saw an angel standing in the sun, literally the sun was behind him and the angel was in front of it so he's standing in what you call midheaven and he cried out with a loud voice saying to all the birds which fly in the midheaven, come assemble for the great supper of God.

[28:41] Bible translators will share with you and these two chapters tell us you are invited to one of two suppers at the consummate of the ages. You are either invited to the wedding supper of the lamb or you're invited to the supper of the birds.

[28:53] One you're intending to eat, the other you're intending to be eaten and that's a sad reality but in the end all mankind is only able to accept one of those two invitations.

[29:08] You're either going to go to the wedding supper of the lamb and rejoice in the wedding of the lamb or you're going to go as the main course for the supper of God delivered to the birds of the midheaven.

[29:19] It says, so that you may eat the flesh of the kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of the mighty men, the flesh of horses and those who sit on them, the flesh of all men, both free men, slaves and small and great women. This is not going to be something that is just for the lowest of society.

[29:32] This is going to encompass all of mankind. This is a worldwide event. Verse 19 shows us the extent to which the world will go to to push Christ away from them because it says, I saw the beast and the kings of the earth.

[29:46] Now the beast is the one who is at the pinnacle of ruling. Babylon has fallen so now he has reached out and he has combined all the world forces that is the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against him who sat on the horse and against his army.

[30:02] So we have the world conspiring together saying, you know what, let's put all our differences aside. The one thing we want to do is we want to rid ourselves of Christ. We want to rid ourselves of his people.

[30:13] We see heaven opening up. He's going to come down. So let's go wage war against him now and let's completely win this victory. The earth is plotting and scheming and they're getting together and they're combining their forces and they're all coming to one great place.

[30:28] That is the battle of the great battle of Armageddon. It says, and they assembled to make war against him who sat on the horse and against his army. And verse 20 says, and as they got there, as they were approaching, you get this picture, heaven's opened, Christ is coming, the armies are following him, that is the redeemed are following him and the armies of the world are coming to meet him and the tension is building.

[30:49] The stage is set. The war is about to break out and it says, and the beast was seized in him and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence. So before the battle even begins, he seizes the leaders of everyone.

[31:02] He takes the beast and the false prophet and by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image and these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with fire and brimstone.

[31:14] These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire. By the way, these are the first two inhabitants of the lake and fire is the beast and the false prophet. Some say, why were they thrown alive in there? Why? Because the beast and the false prophet are what?

[31:26] Demonic beings and as demons it is not appointed unto them once to die and then comes the judgment. Their judgment is instantaneous. It also shows us later on in the book of Revelations that the lake of fire was prepared for Satan and his demons.

[31:42] So these did not have to pass through death. Their judgment was immediate so they were cast alive but it is appointed unto all men once to die and after this the judgment.

[31:53] So now the rest of mankind it says in verse 21 and we do not dare read this verse lightly but rather we need to read this verse with broken hearts because this is the reality for all the multitudes and multitudes of people who have rejected Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

[32:10] Those who have denied Him and those who have rebelled against Him and it says and the rest that is great kings from the greatest of kings to the lowliest of servants were killed with the sword and were judged by the word which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

[32:30] Friend, this war is won in a moment. A man's judgment is sealed long before they swing the first sword. Following this we'll see in the next chapter the establishment of the millennial reign thousand year reign of Christ where Satan is bound.

[32:46] The sad truth is is that throughout the ages man has chosen to rebel and push back against Christ and fight against His calling and fight against His pleading fight against the circumstances He has put in their life to get their attention hoping to rid themselves of His influence hoping to rid themselves of His presence and ultimately fighting to try to destroy Him and they will die in that battle.

[33:13] During the thousand year reign of Christ you will also see that even when men are enjoying His presence those who never accept Him will die and pass into everlasting separation.

[33:31] I'm going to close and read to you a poem with an unknown author called The Incomparable Christ. You can find this published throughout a number of sources.

[33:47] No one really knows who the author is but it simply says more than 1900 years ago there was a man born contrary to the laws of life. This man lived in poverty and was reared in obscurity.

[33:58] He did not travel extensively only once did he cross the boundary of the country in which he lived and that was during his exile and childhood. He possessed neither wealth nor influence. His relatives were inconspicuous and had neither training nor former education.

[34:13] In infancy he startled a king. In childhood he puzzled doctors. In manhood he ruled the course of nature. Walked upon the waves as pavement and hushed the sea to sleep. He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for his service.

[34:27] He never wrote a book and yet perhaps all the libraries of the world could not hold the books that have been written about him. He never wrote a song and yet he has furnished the theme for more songs than all the songwriters combined.

[34:38] He never founded a college where all the schools put together cannot boast of having as many students. He never marshaled an army nor drafted a soldier nor fired a gun and yet no leader ever had more volunteers who have under his orders made more rebels stack arms and surrender without a shot fired.

[34:57] He never practiced psychiatry and yet he has healed more broken hearts than all the doctors far and near. Once each week multitudes congregate at worshiping assemblies to pay homage and respect to him.

[35:09] The names of the past proud statesmen of Greece and Rome have come and gone. The names of the past scientists, philosophers, and theologians have come and gone. But the name of this man multiplies more and more.

[35:22] Though time has spread 1900 years between the people of his generation and the mockers at his crucifixion, he still lives. His enemies could not destroy him and the grave could not hold him.

[35:33] He stands forth upon the highest pinnacle of heavenly glory proclaimed of God, acknowledged by angels and adored by saints and feared by devils as the risen personal Christ, our Lord and Savior.

[35:44] And he is coming again. Are you ready? Let's pray. Lord, I thank you so much for this day.

[35:56] I thank you, Lord, for the promise of your second coming. But Lord, as I acknowledge that and rejoice in that, Lord, I also must confess with broken heart that there are multitudes and multitudes of people who will not be prepared.

[36:12] And Lord, so I pray as your people that we would not take these matters lightly, but Lord, that we would bear a broken heart and a concerned mind to reach those around us with the love of Christ, to proclaim the glory of the acceptance of this day, this church age that you've allowed us to live in, that you may be adored by the saints more and more until that day approaches.

[36:38] We ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

[37:30] Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you.