ROK-18b
Short Clip
Jesus Preceded the Lord’s Supper with a Summary of the Future. Look at the incredible message about Christ’s coming to bring in His Father’s rule on earth. Look at how much Jesus says as we survey Matthew 24-25. The essential points Jesus gave to His disciples, and to us, were:
First, the trouble leading up to Christ’s Coming Kingdom Rule will start with one man’s actions in Jerusalem’s “holy place” (Mt. 24:15). There is a real place that is central in God’s plans: the earthly, geographic place called the city of Jerusalem.
Each time the term “holy place” is used in the Old Testament (54x) and the New Testament (5x), it is always the Temple (or Tabernacle). So, there is a real person coming to that literal place: the human that Satan empowers to become Matthew 24:15-20’s “Abomination causing Antichrist”. The Antichrist heads a future Revived Roman Empire (Dan. 9:26-27). Look back at the source of Christ’s reference to this person in Daniel 9. Here we see the Antichrist is from the Roman Empire (the people who destroyed “the city” (Jerusalem) and “the sanctuary” (Herod’s Temple). This coming Antichrist confirms a covenant with the Jewish nation of Israel. Breaks the covenant, and brings in an “abomination”. And all of that happens in Jerusalem in Judea (Mat. 24:16).
Second, Christ’s Coming Kingdom Rule will follow the Great Global Holocaust known as the Tribulation (Mt. 24:21-22). Jesus makes it clear what precipitates His return has not yet happened. The events prior to Christ’s return are so catastrophic, they will only happen once. Note the extreme, apocalyptic, superlatives Christ uses: “great”, “not been nor ever shall be”, and “no flesh” survive.
Third, Christ’s Coming Kingdom Rule will be seen by every one of us, every saint that has ever lived, and by every human alive on Earth at the closing moments of the Tribulation (Mat. 25:31-32). Note that Jesus says: “all the holy angels” come with Him. This is also described as the second coming in Rev. 19, surrounding the events at Armageddon. Just for a moment think how vast a sight this will be. There are billions of angels, plus we know all the saints are with Him. Jude 1:14 quotes Enoch from before the Flood prophesying a prophecy from God that tells us that Christ returns with “myriads” of His saints (that is the literal words, an incomprehensible number, the largest number they had in the Greek language). There may be as many as a few billion saints from Adam & Eve onward. That is quite an awesome sized cloud coming to the skies of Earth at Christ’s second coming. Global population think tanks estimate that there have been between 46 and 110 Billion humans that have ever lived on Earth over the past 50,000 years. They are probably off by almost one zero in the duration of humanity’s existence on Earth (closer to 6,000 years); but they may be right that 50 plus BILLION souls have been born, and lived, and 7 billion are still alive this moment.
But Christ’s coming to rule His Father’s Kingdom will be as He is surrounded by every angel, and by every saint (1 Th. 3:13); and every human that has survived the Tribulation will see that return.
Every time we celebrate communion we should remember this promise. Jesus is coming to set up His father’s Kingdom. But there is even more.
Inescapable Judgment Arrives with Christ’s Coming to Rule