The Last Days and Discernment

Something I have realized recently is that many believers in this generation do not really understand the purpose and significance of the second coming of Jesus Christ back to this world. In fact, with all of the 'rapture' mindset that permeates the body of Christ today, the actual second coming of the Lord has been relegated to a minor event at best. Well, you can believe the truth now, or you can find out the hard way; but there simply is no rapture before Jesus returns from heaven to raise and change the faithful, and to destroy the wicked; and to set up his kingdom on earth. It isn't in the Bible, not unless you put it in there of your own mind, as so many have done in this modern time. But lets talk about what IS in the Bible about the second coming of the Lord, and what it really means. The Lord's return from heaven with fiery vengeance is one of the most often recurring prophecies in all of the scriptures, both old testament and new. If you need scripture references for that, then shame on you for not having them yourself. I'm not going to copy all of that here when you can read the Bible for yourself, and find it very easily. Believe me, you won't have to look very far. The particular thing that is being missed about the return of Jesus, just happens to be the most omitted part of the Gospel in this generation of believers. That would be the element of judgment. Nobody wants to talk about judgment. Nobody wants to judge [though everyone does it every day]. Nobody wants to be judged. In fact the very word judgment has become basically obscene to most of God's people today. I'm surprised in fact that the word has more than four letters, if you get my point. But like it or not, the second coming of Jesus to this world will be the most prolific, definitive, and powerful act of judgment in the history of existence. God has already judged the entire world once, so I don't know what is so difficult to believe that he will do it again.

Look at what the Bible says about the judgment of God against unbelievers at the return of Christ: "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... And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth" (Zech. 14:1-4,12). That is correct my friend, Jesus is going to literally melt the bodies of the people who have resisted him and done violence to his people. Nahum, among others, described this very event the same way: "What do ye imagine against the Lord? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time. For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry" (Nah. 1:9,10). The writers of the new testament were not bashful about the coming fiery vengeance of the Lord against all who have cleaved to wickedness: "Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" (II Thess. 1:6-9).

But that's not all that the scriptures have to say about Jesus' judgment against those who have persisted in sin and unbelief against his death and resurrection to save them. Here is yet another graphic description of the judgment of God against the wicked, when his Son comes from heaven to execute that jugment: "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come" (Isa. 63:1-4). When Jesus returns to raise his faithful from the dead, and to immortalize his people who are yet alive, and to defend Jerusalem and Israel from their mortal enemies; he will also stomp with his feet everyone who has come against Jerusalem, like when men stomp grapes in a winepress. You think that's not what this passage is speaking of? Then add this one to the equation for good measure: "And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs" (Rev. 14:19,20). Now that is talking about the exact same thing as Isaiah 63 is speaking of, and that is what I said; that Christ will stomp on the bodies of the wicked who have rebelled heartily against him, until he is satisfied with the vengeance that they will be worthy of receiving.

You can do the math and translation of those verses from Rev. 14, and when you do you will find out that blood will be running out from Jerusalem at the tune of about five feet high, for two hundred miles. That is a whole lot of blood my friend, and that is a whole lot of judgment. Not only so, but that is the same man that gave his life at the cross of Calvary, who will be carrying out that judgment with much gladness of heart. Oh, and I might add, he will not at any point afterward be sorry for what he has done, or apologize to anyone about it. How is that for the 'don't judge' mindset that runs so rampant among God's people today? Do you really believe that God will pour out that kind of judgment on the sinners of this world at the coming of Jesus, and at this time want his people to have a school of thought of 'no judgment?' Please. Judgment is not only something for God to execute himself, but it is something that he has ALWAYS required of his people to do among themselves. The apostle Paul gave the saints at Corinth a memorable scathing rebuke for NOT judging someone who was continuing in sin among them. In fact he made the judgment against the man himself, and cast him out from among the congregation of the believers (I Cor. ch. 5). When Israel entered Canaan's land forty years after leaving Egypt, they first conquered the city of Jericho. The people were commanded ahead of time by Joshua to not take certain things from the city, but Achan disobeyed that command and took a wedge of gold and a garment. God commanded Joshua to put both Achan and his family to death for that act (Josh. ch. 7). Why was this punishment ordered by God? For the exact same reason that the apostle Paul put the man in Corinth out of the fellowship of the saints; meaning to get sin out of the camp. God hates sin, and sin destroys human beings. Jesus suffered and died so that we could have true redemption and deliverance from sin and it's consequences. Whoever does not avail themselves of that redemption and deliverance, will NOT be let out of the consequences of sin; which is most notably death (Rom. 6:23).

Just in case anyone thinks that Jesus and the angels will do all of the destruction to the wicked at the second coming, take a look at this overlooked passage of scripture: "For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord" (Psm. 149:4-9). But if that isn't enough to convince you that the saints will also be involved with the destruction of the wicked when Jesus comes back, here's another powerful piece of evidence that says they will: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness...

... They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?" (Joel 2:1-11) That is not just speaking of angels my friend, but also of the faithful believers who will be caught up to meet the Lord as he is coming, who will also be immortalized instantly when he appears (I Cor. 15:51-54; I Thess. 4:16,17; Philip. 3:20,21; I Jn. 3:2,3). The truth of the matter is that the 'no judging' mindset that is so prevalent today, is of a spiritual influence that has taught God's people to not "love righteousness, [and] hate iniquity" (Heb. 1:9). In other words it is a spirit of indifference or 'lukewarmness,' which is something that God also hates (Rev. 3:16). Those who learn to love righteousness and hate evil now, will also be more than ready, and more than happy to execute judgment against the wicked, along side their Savior, their Redeemer, and their King. Those who do not get past the 'no judgment' spirit and mindset of this age, will simply end up on the wrong side of that judgment when it comes. "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the [congregations]" Rev. 3:22). Amen. And amen again!