CHAPTER 7

 

LOOK UP IN THE SKY, IS IT?

 

What will we see at the second coming, the rapture, the paracia?  We remember from the previous chapter that Jesus will return with great majesty and might, but what will we see?  In Revelations, Jesus’ very own gospel, John gives us a most vivid picture.  “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.  With justice He judges and makes war.  His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns.  He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself.  He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God.  The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.  Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.  ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’  He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.  On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written:  KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."

         

There is a particular line in the above quote that I would like to expound upon.  “He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God almighty.”  What is the wrath of God almighty, and does scriptures tell us what to expect when God lets the full force of His fury lose?  It sure does.  In a little read book of the Old Testament, Zephaniah, we learn of that wrath and what God has in store for us.  In the very first chapter, starting at verse 14, Zephaniah lets it rip.  “The great day of the Lord is near and coming quickly.  Listen!  The cry on the day of the Lord will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there.  The day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers.  I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord.  Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth.  Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath.  In the fire of His jealousy the whole world will be consumed for He will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth.”  Talk about a bad hair day, man does that sound bleak.  This is not the only place that God’s wrath is spoken of in scriptures, but I think you get the point that I’m trying to make.

 

When Jesus ascended, as we read in Acts, He left as the sacrificial lamb who took upon Himself the sin of the world. As you can see, upon His return, He will be a mighty warrior, as in the line of David, who will judge the world for the evil it has done.  Only those who appear in the Lamb’s book of life will be spared the cup of God’s wrath.  I pray your name is there.  I pray God sees you as pure, for if you’re not, then you will be judged in accordance with the other books. For if anyone’s name is not found written in the book of life, he must be thrown into the lake of fire.  Talk about going from the frying pan into the fire!

 

The reason I’m telling you all this is to scare the hell out of you.  No, not really.  It’s just to make you aware.  They say that knowledge is power, and now you know what God has planned for all mankind.  I wanted you to hear it right from the lips of God Himself. This is why I used His holy word.  These words are not mine or anyone else’s, but God’s.  You see, God has been warning us for sometime now, about His plan for the end of time.  This plan will be brought to fruition at a time of God’s own choosing, whether we opt for it or not.  For me, there is no discussion. There is no turning back, for God said it, and I believe it, period.  You know what’s great about all this? I’m not afraid.  God has taken the mystery out of life by telling us exactly what He will do. So don’t be startled when the angel blows the trumpet to announce the King’s return, because He told you about it.  Don’t be startled when you see the dead in Christ rise to life followed by those who live in Christ, because He told you.  The time to feel startled is when everyone else is gone, and you’re still here.  I pray your resolve is strong.

 

In the preceding chapter, I quickly referred to the seals that the lamb must break open.  I said "why shouldn’t the earth shake with each seal that the lamb opens?"  I now want to tell you that there are seven such seals, and what happens upon the opening of each.   Again, God has taken the mystery out of life for us.  He has prepared the faithful for the consequences left for this world.  Ready or not here goes.  “I watched as the lamb opened the first of the seven seals.  Then I heard one of four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there before me was a white horse!  Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

 

When the lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, ‘Come!’ Then another horse came out, a fiery red one.  Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other.  To him was given a large sword.

 

When the lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there before me was a black horse!  Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.  Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!’

         

When the lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there before me was a pale horse!  Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by the sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

 

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.  They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’

 

Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

 

I watched as he opened the sixth seal.  There was a great earthquake.  The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.  The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

 

Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.  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!  For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’”

 

I just don’t have the heart to tell you what happens on the opening of the seventh seal, so I won’t.  This I will leave to your own curiosity.   You can find the final outcome in Revelations, chapter 8.  Know this though, the prognosis for this old world is not good.  The Great Physician has given His diagnosis, and the results are terminal.  The old heaven and earth will pass away, but there is a bright light on the horizon.  That light is Jesus.  His medicine is easy to take, that is, once you’ve swallowed your pride.

 

Look, up in the sky, is it a bird or a plane?  No it’s Jesus!  Come Lord Jesus, come!