We would continue from where we stopped on, Why Christ Must Return. There is no better time to talk about it than now that the hearts of people are no longer yearning for the coming of the Lord because it is delayed. But I want you to know that it’s all part of the plan and there is a reason for the delay. So, do not let your heart be shaken, the hope of our salvation cannot be disappointed. The last time, we shared a number of scriptures on the first advent of Christ, and how those prophecies fulfilled exactly as prophesied, and we were careful to show all these scriptures in the Old Testament, some 100, some 1000 years before the coming of Christ. If those scriptures on His first advent fulfilled physically, His second advent would fulfill physically as prophesied. We also shared two reasons why people doubt His second coming, misconstrued scriptures and delay. Remember that in his first advent, there were a lot of expectations, the Jews were expecting Him, but they missed Him –there was no reason why they should miss Him considering their level of expectation but they did. When Herod was seeking the child to kill, he called for the scribes to enquire about where Christ would be born, and the prophecies about him, and they were able to provide him with all that information. How then did they miss him since he met all their requirements of the Messiah recorded in their Law? These people knew the law, and the singular reason for studying the Torah was because they were expecting the Messiah, but they missed him. The reason is that the Jews misconstrued some scriptures, which made their expectation unbiblical. This is a reminder to us that, if in His first coming, He did not meet their requirement; He will not meet our requirement in His second coming. That is God’s pattern.
Today, I want us to look into another reason why Christ must return. We would take our reading from Genesis 49:8-10
Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Genesis 49
I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city. And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish forever. Numbers 24:17-20
His First Coming Did Not Fulfill All His Prophecies
We have looked into how God promised Christ’s first coming in the Old Testament, so I would want us to look into the promise of His second coming in the Old Testament. I choose those two verses of scriptures to start with, because I want us to see how far back those promises have been made. Moreover, in fact, we saw in Genesis 3:15 how the seed of the woman was promised to bruise the head of the seed of the serpent. All the scriptures that talked about the second coming of Christ were made together with the promise of His first coming and that is one of the main reasons why the Jews missed him at His first advent –they were not able to place scriptures right. Let us start with those scriptures, first in Isaiah 61:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.
5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.
The entire chapter of scripture talked about the first coming of Christ and His second coming. Now, for a Jew who does not know how to place scriptures, he would just read through and have an unbalanced expectation of the Messiah, because of his inability to dimension that prophecy into His first advent and His second. When Jesus Christ was going to read this prophecy, let us read how he read it in Luke 4:
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Christ knew exactly why he came the first time, when He picked the prophecy of Isaiah to read, he stopped at proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord and closed the book, because that was the purpose of His first advent. Every other wording of that prophecy was referring to His second coming –the day of vengeance and all others would be fulfilled at His second coming. Therefore, when he closed the book, he simply told them that the portion of the scripture He just read is fulfilled before them. When you read the Bible and you are confused because there are some portions that you feel should have been fulfilled, just assuredly that there is nothing wrong with God’s word or will ever be wrong with God’s word, you are the one who is not placing it right.
The Jews were under Roman dominance as at the time Jesus came on the scene, and they knew that a time was supposed to come when Israel would be free. They also know that every time they read about their liberty, it is always tied around their Messiah. What do you think would be their expectation of Jesus Christ declaring Himself as the Messiah? When He showed up and did not fulfill their requirement, they concluded that He was not the Messiah, but that was a scripture misplaced. Not only the Jews were expecting, even the Disciples of Christ who followed him were also waiting for when Jesus would take over the Roman Empire and restore the kingdom back to Jerusalem. Although they saw the works and everything He was doing that only the Messiah would do, they were not fully convinced that He is the One because they had those expectations that He must fulfill but He wasn’t. Remember when Jesus asked them, who do men say that I am? He understood where He was going because He was not concerned about what people thought, He really wanted to know who they say that He was. They really did not have an answer, and even Peter did not say it of His own accord, He received it. That is why Jesus responded to him that flesh and blood did not reveal that to him but the Father in heaven, because Peter himself did not understand what He was saying, if he did, why did he deny Jesus? Everything in the word of God talked about how the Messiah would take over the reins of this world, and Jerusalem would be the admiration of everyone. That is why when He finished and He was going, they asked Him when He would restore the kingdom back to Jerusalem.
Before Christ came, there were people trying to fulfill those scriptures, with a promise of restoring the kingdom back to Israel, giving the people a false hope. Even amongst the Disciples of Christ, we have Simon the zealot –the group of those who were forcefully trying to fulfill a scripture whose time is not yet, but they all failed. If God is not behind a thing, just give it time, you will see that it will fade off. Thus, Jesus Christ corrected placed Isaiah 61, and only read the portion that was going to be fulfilled at that time. Let us read another scripture that talks about the coming of His second advent.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 9:6-7
When you read this scripture as a Jew, you would expect that when the child is born and the son is given, he would have everything written of him in that promise. However, when he showed up, they were still under Roman governance. Not just that, but after He left in 70AD, Emperor Titus came and destroyed them and their temple. That is why until today, that is the singular reason why a Jew would not believe that Christ was the Messiah, they fail to understand that God would fulfill His word based on His term. Therefore, his first coming was not the time for Christ to take over the reins of this world, but a time for him to die, resurrect and ascend to sit at the Father’s right hand, to make intercession for the sins of both the Jews and the Gentiles, till his enemies be put at his footstool.
As we read these scriptures to see where the Jews got it wrong and misconstrued the Bible, I am also using that to prove to us that there is a second coming of Christ that must fulfill just as His first coming was fulfilled. Let us read another scripture in Micah 4
But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Micah 4:1-3
This scripture is telling you that the seat of governance would be in Jerusalem, and the law that would govern this world would be from Jerusalem. It looks very far-fetched right now, but if God promised it, He will fulfill it. Do not lose that hope, if you lose the hope of the coming of Christ, everything you are doing is just jamboree –practically meaningless. The church world today has lost the hope of the coming of Christ, and you can see that in their focus, if you ask them, is Christ coming? The confidence in their response will let you know that, they are not expecting Him and their hope of His coming has completely died in them. Why? Because it has delayed, and there are also some ignorant people on social media and everywhere who are trying to prove that the coming of Christ is not what can be realized. Let us continue to read that Micah 4 from verse 3
And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. Micah 4:3-8
This is talking about the millennial reign of Christ but all of these were what the Jews were expecting to happen at His first coming, but that was not the time. Let us read again Jeremiah 23:3
And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness. Jeremiah 23:3-6
That is the promise of our Messiah to take over the reins of this dying world. All of these promises and many more we are going to read must come to pass; if they don’t come to pass, that means God is a liar, but we know that God will be true and every man a liar. Let us read another one in Zechariah 14. All these are the promise of His second coming in the Old Testament; we are not even in the New Testament yet.
Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. Zachariah 14:1-4
Reading this, you will see that there are some nations the Messiah would fight, in order to restore the Kingdom to the Jews. That is why he was missed because they thought he did not fulfill that. That is why Christ must return, because He must fulfill those scriptures –He must! The time to restore the kingdom back to Israel is coming and at that time, he would return.
He went to prepare us a House
The second reason I mentioned that Christ must return is because Christ himself promised it. I want to read a few of those promises.
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. John 14:1-3
This is one of those promises where Christ promised that He has gone to prepare a place. This promise he is making here is His appearance to His bride, not even His second coming to take over the reins of the earth. If you look at this, He is saying He has gone to prepare a place. The place that Christ has gone to prepare for us is not a building of bricks and mortals. He is talking about something that Paul referenced in the Bible, let us see it; 2 Corinthians 5
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. 2Cor. 5:1-5
The house that Christ has gone to prepare for us is what Paul is talking about here –the tabernacle that cannot die –It is the theophany that Christ was clothed with after His resurrection. That is your house that you are looking to get into. Because right now, you are living in a house, that your body is housing you –the body is not you, because as soon as something happens, that body goes back to where it belongs. Christ is promising us that if this earthly tabernacle is dissolved; we have another one that is eternal in the heavens waiting for us. So, Christ Himself promised that He would come back to pick His bride. Amen.
Christ also made the declaration of His returning before the high priests in Mark 14
And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. Mark 14:60-64
Let us read another place in Luke 19:11
And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
We know that this is a prophecy about Christ receiving a Kingdom, and also clearly tells us that His coming would be delayed because it says that he went into a far country. We have two reasons now why Christ must return: God promised it, and we see it in some unfulfilled promises in the scriptures that He must come to fulfill. The second reason is Christ promised the return of His kingdom.
The third reason I want to give to us as to why Christ must return is that Christ must return to destroy the devil. That takes us to the very first scripture we read when we started this teaching –Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Genesis 3:15
I want to ask us this question, where was this promise made, is it in heaven or on earth? That promise was made on earth and this earth is the battleground for the seed of the woman and the serpent. The seed of the serpent bruised his heel here on earth, and we know that was referring to the crucifixion of Christ. That was why the prophet was talking about the trail of serpent from Genesis to Judas who is also the seed of the serpent, because in the same manner of subtlety that serpent deceived Eve in the garden, Judas betrayed Christ with a kiss. That is the bruising of the heel of the woman. So if the seed of the woman was bruised in AD 33 on the cross, brothers and sisters, I want you to know that Christ also who is the seed of the woman must return to bruise the seed of the serpent. I want us to read where that happened. I want to read where Christ crushed the head of the serpent.
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Revelation 20:1-5
Remember that the scripture says that the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death –that is the final crushing. Let us read verse 10
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
This is the final-end of the devil, Christ must return to fulfill the end of this battle. There has been an ongoing battle between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent from time, from the very beginning when it was prophesied. And I want you to know that the rightful owner of this earth is Jesus Christ. Let us read a scripture to prove that in Hebrews 1:1
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Hebrews 1:1-2
Let me help you understand that. When God created this earth, He gave the title deed to a man called Adam. He delivered that title deed to them in Genesis when told them to dominate over this earth and rule over everything. However, we know that man lost that right –the title deed. The title deed is a seal of document that proves ownership of a possession. When man lost that title deed, it went back to God, but that title deed cannot be in the hand of God, because God has given this earth to man, not spirit. So, it is a man that must collect that title deed. Let us read Revelations 5
And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. Revelation 5:1-7
That was Christ who is the man coming to reclaim the title deed of this earth. Because Christ has bought redemption through His blood, He became the rightful owner to this earth. But right now, who is the god of this earth? The Bible tells us that the devil is the god of this earth. We know that by many scriptures, the devil offered this earth to Jesus when he tempted him, that was because he is the god. But how can you be promising someone something that belongs to him? Christ knew that He is the rightful owner of this earth, so He does not have to take it the wrong way, when the time is right, He would have it, because He has the title deed. And the title deed by history can only be opened by the rightful owner that the title deed was ascribed to. Christ is the second Adam that cannot fall.
Let us read another scripture. Psalms 2:6-8
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Christ must return to gain the complete victory over hell and death, and take over the dominance of this world, bruising the head of the seed of serpent since His heel was bruised.
Christ Must be vindicated by His Father
The third reason is, Christ must be vindicated by His Father. This reason is a little emotional. I want to ask us a question, what was the last picture that this earth had about Christ? The last picture that the world had about Christ, we would read it from Matthew 26
But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace, And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee? Matthew 26:60-68
The last picture that the unbelievers had of Christ was a disgraced, ridiculed, helpless, spat upon individual, naked, thorns hanging upon His head –he was publicly ridiculed, publicly disgraced, that was the last picture the world had about our Lord. A bleeding helpless figure hanging on the cross. I know there are pictures that portrayed that a little piece of cloth was hanging around him, but according to Roman history, the Roman soldiers used to crucify people naked, so there is a high chance that Jesus Christ was stacked naked on the cross. And when He resurrected, He did not appear to one unbeliever. Let us see the people that saw Christ, Paul did a beautiful summary of that
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 1Cor. 15:1-8
If you have a doubt about the resurrection of Christ, this scripture will clear your doubt. It was not a vision that they saw here in this scripture, 500 people cannot be dreaming at this same time, this goes to show that they actually saw the physically resurrected Jesus. As at the time Paul was writing this, Paul was bold to say that some of the brethren that saw him were still alive –essentially saying that his claim could be verified.
Just a side note here, it interests me a lot, how Paul did not see Jesus physically when He was on earth. Paul is the convener of Grace. Paul preached the New Testament that we received to us, and he was not part of those that saw Jesus physically when he could have actually seen Jesus physically, because he was alive when Christ was on earth. You know Jesus told Thomas that, you see and you believe, but blessed are those who did not see but believe. That blessedness is the grace that we have received –it is the blessedness of the New Testament. Therefore, Paul who was the convener of the New Testament did not have to see Christ physically; he had to see Him by faith to be a convener of the New Testament. You do not need to see Christ physically, because now we know no man after the flesh –the flesh of the person of Christ has no relevance to you. What is relevant to you is to receive Him by faith, which is the word of God. What I was getting at that made us get here is that every single person that saw Jesus Christ after His resurrection were believers. There was no unbeliever that Christ appeared to. Why? Were they not the one that He was supposed to appear to, to prove that He is the Christ? The time of His vindication to the world is coming. The last picture of Christ that the world witnessed is in his humiliated person, but we know that the next picture the world would see is His glorification –His glorification must be seen by the entire world.
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. Revelation 1:7
The Bible prophesied His humiliation; the Bible also prophesied His glorification. We have seen the precision of the Bible about his first coming, all that he would do, including his humiliation. Similarly, the other part of His prophecies must be fulfilled.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:5-12
Thus, God must vindicate His son to the world, not just to believers –He must!
The True Test of Your Hope
I want to wind it up this way. What is the whole essence of all the mysteries we know about Christ? What is the essence of knowing about His coming? Let us read 1 John 3
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 1 John 3:2-3
The test of all the mysteries you know or will find out is that it will purify you. Ask yourself: does this knowledge have a sanctifying influence on my soul? Does the knowledge of the seventy weeks of Daniel that you have come to know, the knowledge of the six seals that have been revealed, the knowledge of the seven thunders that some people are chasing up and down, have a sanctifying influence on your soul? If it does not, it is not useful! Because every man that has this hope in himself purifies himself believing that someday, this hope would be realized. The way to know that you still believe and you are expecting the coming of Christ is the way you are living your life. If you truly believe in the coming of Christ, it will reflect in the way you are living. Every parable Christ gave concerning His second coming is for us to be eager, for us to be patient, for us to occupy till He comes and have the attitude of expectation, regardless of whether all predictions failed. Like I said before, predictions would fail. Every prediction has failed before now, and they would fail. The day and the hour, no man knows it. If any prediction works, it will nullify that scripture.
You can ask me about the seven thunders. I know there is a lot of hype around it. But listen to me, the seven thunders is not our business, it is not our making, we are not the one to do it, it is strictly a divine work. What the seven thunders would do is bring the transformation of our bodies, now, is that something a man can do through a self-acclaimed ministry? No. That is something completely divine in the hand of the Lord; it is not what you should be chasing all around. What you need to do is let this hope purify you, because if that hope does not purify you, you will not partake in that. So brothers, you go around, eagerly waiting and expecting, letting the hope of His coming purify you. Because if you like, know every single detail about all mysteries, if that hope does not purify you, you will not be part of it. The coming of the Lord is surer than your breath, do not let anyone take it away from you. Jesus Christ is waiting for those who are waiting for His return. We will continue from here in the next sequel.