"Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.
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Discipleship Training Course Come… Follow Me!
Lesson 14: The Coming King
Review
1. We have looked at how the Bible is the written Word of God;
2. We have seen how it is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction and redirection of the believer's life;
3. We have considered some of its uses for the believer; it sows the seeds for new birth, it builds faith, it provides spiritual nourishment, it illuminates the mind, it provides for physical healing and it is like a mirror for the soul.
We will now look at how the Scriptures reveal the soon coming of King Jesus, so that we are able to discern how to conduct ourselves as disciples as we wait for Him to appear.
We will...
1. Look at some of the Scripture's prophecies about His return;
2. Look at what will happen at His coming;
3. Begin to see the reasons for His return and how it will affect us.
Our objective
is, to be ready for His appearing and to be unashamed when we stand before Him.
A. What is the Second Coming of Jesus?
Mark 13:26-27, 32 "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
The visible return of Jesus as King of all the earth.
Acts 1:9-11 "Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." He will return in the same way that He left.
1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." He will return with the spirits of all those who have died in Him.
Titus 2:11-13 "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ," He will appear in great glory. This is the blessed hope.
B. What is Jesus coming back for?
i. Who is He?
Revelation 1:4-7 "John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen." He is the Messiah, the faithful witness, the conqueror of death, and the supreme ruler of the world.
Revelation 12:5 "She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne." He is the coming ruler of all nations of the earth.
Revelation 19:15 "Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." He will govern completely exercising the judgements of God.
Isaiah 35:4-10 "Say to those who are fearful-hearted, "Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you." Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes. A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; it shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." He is the restorer of everything.
ii. Why must He come?
Genesis 1:28 "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." The first Adam and his Bride, Eve, were commissioned to rule over all the earth, to bring it into their control. They failed to do this by succumbing to Satan's deceptions.
1 Corinthians 15:45-50 "So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being" ; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable." The Second or Last Adam, Jesus Christ, and His Bride, will do what the First Adam and his bride failed to do.
1 John 3:2 "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."
Daniel 2:44 "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever." God's plan is to rule and reign completely through Jesus by overthrowing all rules that does not recognise His authority and Kingship.
C. The judgement of rewards
Hebrews 9:27 "it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgement." Judgement is inevitable for everyone.
2 Corinthians 5:10 "For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." The Judgement of believers concerns the works that they do as believers. It does not concern their salvation because salvation is not received through works.
Ecclesiastes 12:14 "For God will bring every work into judgement, including every secret thing, whether good or evil."
Luke 19:12-24 "Therefore He said: "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.' But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.' And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.' And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.' And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.' Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.' "Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. 'For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.' And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. 'Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?' And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.' The assessment made when the King returns will be on how faithfully the servants of the Lord used the gifts put into their hands.
D. The Kingdom of Jesus Christ
Revelation 5:9-10 "And they sang a new song, saying "You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth." Only the faithful servants are rewarded with the responsibility of ruling and reigning with the Coming King.
Revelation 1:5-6 "To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Revelation 20:6 "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years." Faithful servants/disciples will reign during the 1000-year restoration of the earth with Jesus as their King.
Malcolm Vine, Cornerstone Ministries. September 2004.
To contact the Bible School email: bibleschool@cornerstoneministries.org.uk
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