I invite all of you to open your Bible and turn with me to Revelation, chapter 1. And what we did with the kids every night this week is we invited them even all the way down to the kindergarteners who can't even read yet, we said, let's all open the Bible. This is what the moms and dads do in the big church is they open the Bible, and we all stand up and read it together. And that's what we did with the kids. And so, I want to read for all of us revelation chapter 1. I want to pick up right where we left off at Camp Compass that Jesus is the King. And he's coming back again. And this is what it's going to be like when Jesus is unveiled, when he is revealed in all of his glory and splendor. So, I invite you, just like we did with the kids, to stand up for the public reading of Scripture, and to give this your full and undivided attention because this really is the word of God. What we said to the kids is, when God's talking, nobody's talking, and even if you're watching this in the overflow, or online, you stand up with us. And this is the revelation of Jesus as the Christ, as the king. This is Revelation Chapter 1, please follow along:
“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. Greeting to the Seven Churches John to the seven churches that 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 firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’ I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches’”
That's reading of God's word, please go ahead and have your seat. I don't know how much you know about the book of Revelation, or when the last time you read it, or if you've ever read the book of Revelation, but when a lot of times when Christians today, talk about Revelation, they talk about when is it going to happen. And they talk about how it is going to happen. But the point of this book is not a when or a how, it's who it says right there in verse one. This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, the future is a person, and his name is Jesus. And right now, Jesus is the King, Jesus is exalted. It's very important for all of us to understand the gospel. The gospel is the good news that we taught to the kids, that Jesus is the Christ who died for our sins and rose again. But that's not the end of the story. Because Jesus ascended into heaven, and he was exalted to the name that is above every name. And right now, he reigns supreme as Lord of heaven and earth with all authority. And this Revelation 1:1, this is about him being revealed, he already has all the glory. You just can't see it right now with your eyes, but at some point, who will be revealed, something that is hidden will be made known, something that is covered, will be unveiled. That's the idea behind this word here for revelation. It's this word apocalypsis. And so, when you hear maybe the word apocalypse, you think some crazy End Times catastrophe. That's not really what the word means. The word means that Jesus is going to be revealed, unveiled. Jesus, who right now is covered up, and you can't see his glory, when that covering is removed, and Jesus is made known, oh, in the glory that we are going to see when we get to see Jesus. That's what this book is all about. And look at verse 3, because it says, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy” like I'm doing here today. “And blessed are those who hear,” like you're doing, “and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” So, the book of Revelation promises to everyone who had read it aloud to others, to everyone who would really hear it and keep it and take it to heart, it promises blessedness, a happiness. And notice what it claims. It claims in verse 3, that this is words of prophecy. So, I don't know if you think like that. Do you think that you're living in a time where there is prophecy about what is going to happen in the future and in the present? You need to hear this prophecy so it can change your mind, so you can be prepared and ready for what is going to happen in the future. So, when we use the word prophecy, we have the idea of foretelling, of telling the future, but a lot of times when we talk about prophecy at church, and we try to talk about prophecy here at our church, but a lot of times we're referring to prophecies that have already been fulfilled when Jesus came, prophecies about his birth, or prophecies about his death on a cross, or even that he's going to rise from the dead on the third day. Do you realize that there are still many prophecies, including the book of Revelation, that are yet to be fulfilled?
And so, we need to make sure that we hear the prophecy so we can know what is going to happen in the future. One of the things that people regularly make comments about at church these days, it's like, why were the Jews so surprised when Jesus came to die? Why don't they know about Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22, that he was going to be a suffering servant, and a sacrificial lamb? Like, one of the things you might have thought before if you study the Bible is, why didn’t the Jews know what Jesus was going to do when he said what he was going to do, and there were so many prophecies about what he was going to do? Well, you could ask that same question to many Christians today. Why don't we live like the prophecies about Jesus are true in our day, in our time? Like, how many people are really living like Jesus is coming back at any moment, and he's coming to reign as a king? And I want to really hear that prophecy. I want to really keep that prophecy, because I believe the time is near.
I've openly heard people say at this church, I don't think he's coming back in our lifetime. I don't think he's coming back soon. And even people who would say, well, I think he could come at any moment, the question comes to all of us, do you really hear the prophecy? Do you just know about it? Does it really change the way you live? Do you believe Jesus is coming back, but it really has no application to your life today? So, the book of Revelation is claiming to be a prophecy about Jesus being revealed, and it's inviting you to hear this prophecy so that you will be blessed. And then you get to verse 5, and it really starts taking us into who Jesus is. In fact, this is a great review, just this one verse of all that we talked got the kids in our five days that we had together for Camp Compass. It says in verse 5, and from Jesus Christ, that was our first day, that Jesus is the Christ, that all the Hebrew Bible when they were looking towards this Messiah or Christ, this Anointed One, the Chosen One who is going to come from God to save us, the Prophet, Priest, and King. They were waiting for a king who was going to come, he was the Christ. But the plot twist that they didn't see coming, it says next about Jesus is that he is the faithful witness. Look over at Revelation 2:13, and you'll see it talks about this man Antipas. And it says here in chapter 2:13, “I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith[b] even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.” So faithful witness means one who would die as a martyr, one who would die for God because of their witness of God. And so, there's Jesus dying on the cross, loving us all the way to the end as a payment for our sins. And this was a surprise. They knew a king was coming, they weren't expecting the king to humble himself, and to die in our place. That's not what they thought the king would do.
Go back to Revelation 1:5. And after it says that “Jesus is the Christ, the faithful witness,” it says, firstborn of the dead,” referring to his resurrection, referring to not just that he wasn't the first necessarily to arrive, but he is the firstborn out of all of those who will rise from the dead. He is the preeminent one, he is the leader. He is the one who is going to receive the inheritance, the prominent one out of all of those who will rise. I love what Jesus says that we read just a moment ago in Revelation 1:18, when Jesus said that he is “the Living One, I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore.” Like, I died, but I am alive now. In fact, now I have the keys, I decide when people die, and where they go when they die. “I have the keys of death, and Hades.” I am the one who has authority over life, I am the firstborn of the dead, it says. So even just this phrase back in verse 5, it tells us that Jesus is the Christ. That tells us how he died and rose. And then it tells us who Jesus is now, the ruler of kings on earth. And that was the fourth night. And that was where we said that Jesus is the king of all kings. He is the Lord of all lords.
And I was teaching the kids. We broke them down by different age groups. I was teaching them this every night. And we would open the Bible, we would stand up and read Scripture. And then I was teaching the kids just like I would teach here. And it was so fun, because we would open it up for questions with the kids. And these precious kids, you know … you say, does anyone have a question? Come up here on the microphone and ask your question. And like, every hand goes up, like call on me, right? And they just got that like, intense look on their face, like call on me, like, I'm going to touch the ceiling if you don't call on me. And then you call on them. And they look at you like, why did you call on me? I don't have anything to say, right? I mean, it's just so precious working with these kids. But some of these kids started to ask very profound questions. Like, why did Jesus have to die? Or why did Jesus want to die? Or why is Jesus coming back again? What is he going to do when he comes back? Like you can see, like, kids are really thinking, not just about what's going to happen, they're thinking about Jesus and who he is. And so, we got to like, what does it mean that Jesus is Lord? And, you know, these kids, they're trying to find the definition of Lord, and they're all raising their hand. Well, he's the king. Okay, well, yeah, that's the theme of the whole night, the whole week. Yeah, but what does Lord specifically mean? Well, he's the Christ. Okay, that was Monday night. You know, they're all just like trying, you know, and well, what is it? What does it mean that he's the Lord? Oh, he laid down his life for us? No, that was Tuesday night, right? And so, you're going through, I remember what the first and second grade were going through, and we're having a hard time finding out what Lord is. And then I called on this one girl in the front row, and she just says, with this cute voice, he's the boss of the whole world. And it's just like everybody, when they hear it, they're just like, yeah, that's who he is. Right? That means he's king over America. And he's king over Canada, and he's king over Mexico. We didn't know a lot of countries, but we got to a few of them, right? I mean, he's king over the rulers of the earth, that even right now he's the king of all kings. He's the Lord of all lords. He's been given all authority. And then we got to the last night, and now he's going to come back. And that's when it's going to be made clear to everyone who he really is. And so that's what we did on the last night.
I want to spend our time together zeroing in on verse 7, look at Revelation 1:7 with me, because this is one thought here in this verse … there's so much we could get into from Revelation 1, but I just want to get into verse 7. Because you can see it starts with “Behold”. So, this is something that John saw, that he wants you to see. And then the verse ends with Amen. It is true. And so, it's a self-contained thought here in verse 7. I need you to see something, and it's true. So, I want you to really get it, and it says, Behold, he, and this is about Jesus, because it's been talking about him, the one who loves us, the one who freed us from our sins by his blood, the one who made us a kingdom, to Him be the glory forever. So it's Jesus here, “Behold, he, Jesus is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced him. And all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him even so, Amen.” So, here's Jesus coming on the clouds. And then this is the title of our sermon: Every Eye Will See Him, or every eye will see Jesus. Now, whenever you talk about that idea that every eye is going to see Jesus, one of the things that I'm sure I've said it at some point, one of the things I hear a lot of people say, is like, oh, now I get why God waited for satellite technology. Because when Jesus comes, it's going to be on TV, it's going to be on YouTube, everybody's going to be able to see it. So that's what God was waiting for; so everybody could see Jesus. Has anybody heard that thought, or maybe spread that thought yourself, like, ooh, deep end-times thought TV is going to help the world see Jesus? Now, I appreciate the sentiment of what you're saying. And I'm sure that when Jesus comes, it might end up on TV and YouTube; I'm sure it will be a big deal. But I just want to remind you that the Jesus who is going to return has a face that is shining like the sun in full strength, and the sun doesn't need TV or YouTube to be seen by everybody on planet Earth. I think our vision of the glory of Jesus may not be up to who he actually is. Hey, in fact, some of us, we were talking about the glory of Jesus that is revealed through His creation, and how Jesus even now upholds the universe by the word of his power, and how the heavens are declaring his glory day after day and night after night they pour fourth speech. And so, some of us went to go take a look at the sunset to worship Jesus. Anybody go look at a sunset to worship Jesus? I know some of us did. And I was excited to do that one night. And so, I went and I thought it was golden hour, because the sky was starting to change into all the amazing colors, not just blue, but the orange and the pink, and it was happening. And so, I was like, I'm going to look at the sunset and worship Jesus. But I think I showed up a little early, because when I looked directly at the sun, I was seeing purple spots for the next thirty minutes. Right? I mean, when you walk out of this building, try, just go ahead and look at the sun, if you dare. Jesus' face is going to be like what? Like Jesus’ face is going to be like something ... What's the closest thing we know of that we could explain what Jesus’ face is like? Well, it's like the sun shining in full strength. What do his eyes look like? Well, they look like a flame of fire. What's that coming out of his mouth? Well, it's like a sharp two-edged sword. Like we're just taking the best pictures. We’ve got to just try to describe the glory that is going to be revealed to us when every eye sees Jesus. I mean, Jesus is the one in control of the sun and the moon and the stars, everything you see in the heavens. It's all from Jesus. I don't think he's going to need our help to get everybody on earth attention and to show us his glory. Every eye will see Jesus.
When Jesus is revealed, it's not going to compare to anything that you have experienced before. It will be very clear to everyone immediately upon seeing Jesus that this is the end-game; this is the climax. All of history has been building up to this. And it really is his story. He is the one. That's what's going to happen. And Revelation 1:7 puts that idea together in a complete thought. And it quotes different scriptures that make up this idea of Jesus coming back. And so, when it says he is coming with the clouds there in verse 7, that's not just a physical description of him riding on the clouds; it has more meaning to it than that.
So, I want everybody to grab your Bible and turn with me to Daniel 7:13-14. And hopefully, this is a Scripture you know, and if you don't know this, I'm honored to introduce you to this Scripture. This is a scripture I would encourage you to have as a reference point, ready to go. If you are a believer in Jesus, and it ever comes up, why does Jesus call Himself the Son of Man? Why does it talk about Jesus riding on the clouds? You should immediately think to yourself, Daniel 7:13-14. These verses are the answer to “one like a Son of Man riding on the clouds.” In fact, if you've been to Bible college or some kind of Bible school, you might have even heard of a class like Daniel and Revelation. Often these books are studied together, because they both give some of the same visions, visions that Daniel had at one point, visions that John has, and they both write them down. So, we can see what they saw in these visions that God gave them of his glory that is going to be revealed. And so, here in Daniel 7:13, he says, “I saw in the night visions, and behold.” See, the invitation is for you. Look at this. Can you see what Daniel or John saw? “Behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a Son of Man, and he came to the Ancient of Days, and was presented before him. And to him” this one like a Son of Man, “was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
So, it's not just, oh, can you see Jesus on the clouds? No, see, it's referring back to this vision right here. See, this is what happened, from our perspective behind the scenes, but revealed to us through these visions, and at some point will be revealed to everyone that the Father, the Ancient of Days, has already given all of creation as an inheritance to his son, one like a Son of Man, Jesus. And so, we’re already saying about the coronation of the king. See, that's, that's happened. He ascended into the clouds, he's exalted to the name above all names. Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Someday every knees going to bow, and every tongue is going to confess what Daniel saw here in this vision, that Jesus has a kingdom, and this kingdom that has been given to him is for all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. That includes you. That includes everybody who has ever lived. Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, and the kingdom that he has had will never end. Some of the great empires in world history have risen and they have fallen, they have come to an end. The kingdom of Jesus will never end, and no one can rise up and destroy or overthrow the kingdom of Jesus, there is an internal kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we should think when we have this idea of one coming on the clouds, that God has given Jesus a kingdom that will last forever with all authority.
Let's get this down for point number one. If you're taking notes here today: Ready or not, here comes the kingdom. Ready or not, here comes the Kingdom. All of the Bible is leading up to a climax that hasn't happened yet. And that it will be the revelation of this eternal kingdom of our Lord Jesus. And whether you believe in that or not the Bible's prophesying that that is what will take place; that it's already happened in heaven, and it's going to be revealed to all of us. So yes, you might think of the picture of Jesus riding on the clouds, but it's true really a statement of who he is, and the authority that's been given to him, and the kingdom that he is ushering in when he returns, that he is going to establish his reign, and he is going to judge the living and the dead. And once Jesus begins to reign, his kingdom, it's going to be forever; it will never be overthrown.
Go back to Revelation 1:7. So when it says, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds,” what John is thinking you might already be familiar with, is Daniel's vision in Daniel 7:13-14. So we're going to see that Revelation 1:7 brings together other prophecies, other Scriptures that have already been spoken. And it brings them together here in a new way, in Revelation 1:7. So, he's coming with the clouds. Every eye is going to see him because all peoples, nations, tongues, they're all meant to serve him. He is the Lord of all. And then out of everyone seeing him, it zeroes us in on a specific particular group of people, even those who pierced him. So out of everybody who's going to see Jesus, well, there are specifically the ones who pierced Jesus. Now, this idea of Jesus being pierced is a common thought in prophecy. Like when we talk about Jesus being pierced, you might think of Isaiah 53, where he is pierced for our transgressions, for our sins. You might think of his hands and his feet on the cross, like it says in Psalm 22, or maybe you think of the spear that pierced his side. So, there are a lot of references to Jesus being pierced in prophecy. But when it's talking about “even those who pierced him,” every eye is going to see him, even those who pierced him. See, there is a specific prophecy that talks about this specific group of people who pierced Jesus. Later on, seeing Jesus for who he really is. So, this is a reference to Zechariah 12:10. So, everybody grab your Bible and flip right on over to Zechariah 12:10. And we were doing this with the kids all week. It was like, hey, grab your Bible and turn to this passage. And the leaders, we're helping the kids find it. And one of the things we encourage the kids to do, if you want to learn where the books of the Bible are, you want to get those fast fingers and be able to flip the pages and know where you're going. You’ve got to do sword drills, you’ve got to practice. You’ve got to have somebody call out a book and a chapter and a verse and try to get there faster than everybody else. I remember, as a kid growing up in church, that's how I learned the order of the books of Bible was by sword drill practice. And I'm saying all of this to stall, so you can find Zechariah 12:10, because people who are living in a time of prophecy, people who really think that the future is already been revealed, and I could study it today, so I could prepare myself and my family and my loved ones for what is yet to come. You think if we were really people who hear prophecy and want to keep all that is written, we'd be more familiar with Zechariah than we probably are. Because Zechariah has some epic prophecies about who Jesus really is. And a lot of the prophecies in Zechariah are still yet to be fulfilled, including this one in Zechariah 12:10, where it says, “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”
So, you can see who are the ones who are going to look on him whom they have pierced. That's right there in the middle of this verse. That's what it's referring to. And Revelation 1:7, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, who is that what we're talking about here? The house of David, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, we're talking about God's chosen people, the Jews, and we're talking about specifically the nation of Israel. And so, here we have a prophecy that when the people there in Israel, and they're in the line of David, in the city of Jerusalem, when they see King Jesus revealed, there's going to be some kind of grace working among God's people, some kind of mercy that's going to go through them, and they're going to realize that God did send his Messiah to them to save them, and they rejected the Messiah. They killed him. They crucified Him, and they're going to realize, what did we do? God sent the king to us, and we rejected him. And they are going to mourn over that. They're going to weep over that. And then they're going to be really sorry about it. And it gives us this analogy here, like a parent would be so sad if they lost their child. So, the people of Israel are going to be so sad that they killed the Messiah, the Christ, the one that God sent for them, their King Jesus, and there's going to be, based on the grace and mercy of God, some kind of revival among Israel, some kind of real turning to Jesus, and they're going to see, finally, as a group of people. They're going to see that Jesus is the King, and they will weep and mourn that they ever killed him.
Now, I love this verse, and I love how it compares it, this picture it gives of a parent who is just devastated is just heartbroken because their only child, their firstborn child, like if you're if your kid died, what would you be like as a parent? How would you be sorry? How would you mourn? See, that's the picture here of how the Jewish people are going to be when they realize who Jesus really is as the king, and how they really treated him. When they look on the one that they have pierced, they're going to mourn like a parent would, at losing their child. And that's such a great analogy for us on the week of Camp Compass, because we've, we've seen the precious kids that God has blessed us with here at this church. And so many parents were here serving with their kids, and anybody who's a parent here, you know what it was like when you held your firstborn, your only child of God's ever blessed you with, the gift of a child. How precious. I have some friends here at the church that just had a baby this week. I mean that God is so good for the families here at the church of babies are regularly being born and you see that joy. And do you remember what it was like when you were like a new parent of a kid? And how like you kept that child safe from everything. Do you remember the pacifier, the Binky, whatever you wanted to call it? Right? Do you remember how clean and pristine that thing was? Right? How you washed that thing? And then you washed your hands so you could wash that thing? Again? Right? And yeah, and everything was germ free. Everything was spotless. Everything was perfect for your little precious, right? And then if you are blessed with another child, and maybe a third child, or, or even a fourth child, by the time you're holding that kid, you're just wiping that pacifier off in your armpit. And you're just like, hey, you need to stop crying right now. Am I speaking to anybody here? Right. So, I mean, those kids, they can tug on our heartstrings. Like we can really feel like the highest of heights and the lowest of lows, based on how we love our kids. And this is saying, hey, parents, let me take you back to that most precious moment. Let me take you back to your firstborn, to your only child, when being a parent was a new thing. Can you imagine the devastation, the sheer horror of losing your child? That's the way these people are crying when they realize that they killed Jesus. And there's a weeping. There's a mourning, like the Jewish people are going to realize who Jesus has been this entire time in their history. And they're going to own it. See, this is really the key what I'm talking about right now. This is the key to understanding Jesus. This is the key to what puts the good in the good news. It's that moment. Yeah, you know, Jesus came, and you know, he died for the sins of the whole world. And you know, the right answer that he died on that cross, and he died for our sins, but there's a moment when your eyes are open. There's a moment when you really see. No, no, there's Jesus on that cross, and he's bleeding now. And that blood is flowing down to the foot of the cross, and I know why he died. He died up there for me. See, there's a moment when it goes from Jesus dying for everybody, to you realizing that you have sinned, and you're starting to feel the weight of your sin. It's starting to feel heavy what you've done, and you realize that you're not right with God and you've got a debt that you can't pay off, and you're feeling this pressure like you've never felt before. And then your eyes are opened and there he is. And he didn't need to die. He was perfect. He was right with God. He pleased his father, he obeyed all the commands, he established perfect righteousness, and there he is on that tree dying, and here you are with all your sin, and then, all of a sudden, it hits you and your eyes are open to see he's doing that for me. I know why he died on the cross. I’ll go tell the kids, he did it for me, he took my sin. See, that's what's going to happen here with these people.
Point number two. Let's get it down like this: Cry because he came to die, Cry because he came to die. This is what we were trying to tell the kids. Yes, he died for our sins. Yes, he came for the sense of the whole world. But the answer to the question is why did Jesus have to die on that cross? The answer is very simple. It's me. It was my sin that held him there. It might seem intense to say, I killed Jesus, but when you think about it, Jesus wasn't under the curse. Jesus didn't have to die. The wages of sin is death. But Jesus hadn't sinned. Jesus could have just kept living forever, but he voluntarily laid his life down. What kind of king is this who dies for the peasantry, that's who Jesus is. And it's personal. It's not like he died for the whole room of people. He died for every one of us that are the room of people. And the day that you realize that he's up there, and he's taken the judgment that you deserved, and you're getting his righteousness given to you as a gift. Some kind of glorious exchange took place where he paid for your sin, and you get to run free based on his blood. That's the day that you cry tears because it's overwhelming. It's emotional. It's powerful. It's life changing. It's the day that you say, if Jesus died for my sin, and that's his blood paying for my sin at the foot of that cross, then I'm going to change my mind about sin. And I'm going to confess this sin to be wrong, as God says it is. And I'm going to turn from this sin, I'm going to stop stepping over the blood of Jesus to keep on sinning. And the blood of Jesus is going to wash me clean from all of my sin, and I'm going to live a new life in Jesus, because he gave his life for me. See, that's what's going to happen with these people here, the house of David. Even those who pierced Him, when they see Jesus, they're going to start crying, but it's going to be tears of repentance, it's going to be a godly sorrow. They're going to own up to the fact that Jesus died because of me, and it's going to have this profound change in their life.
See, this is why I love going to Israel. And I've been blessed to go with some of the brothers and sisters here at the church. We're hoping to go again next summer. And when we go to Israel, it happens every time we've gone there as a church, you're going through all these wilderness places, you're going around the Sea of Galilee, you're trying to go through these old streets of Jerusalem in the in the city there, and you're trying to go to all the places in Scripture where Jesus walked. You're following the footsteps of Jesus. And then you're surrounded by Jewish people who aren't worshipping Jesus, and Muslim people who don't really know him as the Christ, and even the Christians. They're in Jerusalem. They're wearing these long robes. And they've got these staffs, and they're burning incense. And I have people announcing them as they walk down the street, and they look like just righteousness, or just some kind of puffed-up proud person. And you're like, I don't think that's what it looks like to worship Jesus. And you're not seeing anybody worship Jesus at the place where Jesus came and died. And eventually you'll hear it on the trip. people be like, why would Jesus even come here and die? Why did Jesus even humble himself and do this? And then you can just see, people get the answer. And the tears start flowing down. Usually happens at the Garden of Gethsemane where people realize that all that pressure, all that heaviness, all the burden of sin, all the judgment that needs to happen, all the guilt, all the shame, Jesus was feeling the pressure there in the garden, that he was going to die. And it's like, you can just see, people get it. Oh, he came here for me. See, once you realize, that's what makes it such good news. That's what makes it life changing. That's what makes it something you want to go and tell the whole world. You don't understand. It's not just that Jesus died, it's that he died for me. And he took my place. He was my substitute my sin. I had a debt that I was never going to pay off. And Jesus, he said, it is finished, paid in full. And then he gave his last breath, and he did it for me. And that's what the Jewish people are going to realize. And it's going to have this profound and powerful effect. They're going to weep. They're going to mourn. And so, I'm here to ask you, have you cried because Jesus died? Has it really meant something to you in your life? Has it really been such a profound change that your sin has been paid for, and you've been set free by his blood, and you're now live in a new way? That's the reference there, even those who pierced him. Well, that's a reference to Zechariah 12:10
Go back to Revelation 1:7, because there's a third reference here. A lot of people are going to cry. When every eye sees him, there's going to be tears flowing from those eyes. But not all the tears are going to be repentance, not all the sorrow is going to be godly. Look what it goes on to say, that's kind of the final thought here. Before it gets too even. So, Amen. So, can you see who's coming on the clouds? Can you see what he did for us already? But then here's the final idea. The third thought here is, “even those who pierced him,” and then it says, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. So, this is again the idea of weeping and mourning, but this is not a particular group of people. This is universally all people, that all the tribes of the earth, when they see him revealed, and all of his glory on the clouds, and they have that moment of revelation, they're going to start crying tears, they're going to start crying, like the world has never heard before. But it's not these tears of repentance and turning to him. It's tears of being overwhelmed with that burden of all of your sin and realizing that you were on the wrong side of history. And here comes Jesus, the King, the judge of the living and the dead. So, all tribes of the earth, if you study that idea throughout Revelation, the earth dwellers in the book of Revelation, they are “all the nations of the earth,” that ally themselves together against the one who sits on the throne against the Lamb. This is the nations of the earth, allying together against God and against his son, Jesus. And when Jesus shows up and is revealed, they realize that they are already right away defeated, they are going to be judged, and they start wailing is what it says. Jesus actually said this was going to happen in Matthew 24.
Turn back to Matthew 24:30. So Revelation 1:7 is pulling together these other prophecies, things from Daniel, Zechariah, and now even something that Jesus himself says here in the Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24 and 25. This is some famous teaching from Jesus that he did on the Mount of Olives, which is right outside of Jerusalem, overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem. And he did some teaching about the end of all things. And he says here in Matthew 24:30, look how Jesus says it. This is the same idea that we're reading in Revelation 1:7, he says, “Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” So, if you keep reading and studying all that Jesus says is going to happen, there's so much in Matthew 24 and 25. It's clear that when the Son of Man comes on the clouds in his great power and glory, after that will come the judgment. And everyone will be separated into two groups, there will be the sheep, and there will be the goats, there will be the righteous, and there will be the wicked, there will be those who know Jesus, and those who do not know Jesus. There will be no middle category. Everyone will be judged, and they will either be those who are saved by Jesus, and they're on team Jesus and Jesus is their king, or there will be those who are separated, and they will be judged according to what they have done. And as soon as Jesus is revealed, and all of his glory, people will, all the tribes of the earth will mourn, because they will see that judgment has come. Now judgment is something you cannot learn by experience. The only way to be ready for judgment is you have to hear the prophecy and prepare yourself before judgment comes. When judgment comes, it will be devastating. There will be a cry heard around the world that the revelation of Jesus as the Christ when he comes to judge like nothing that has ever been heard before. And this was something that the kids in all of their question asking, they started to ask questions like, well, after we die, can we still believe in Jesus? Like kids started to realize like the offer to believe in Jesus is available only for a limited time. And at some time, there will be no more opportunity to turn from our sin and to trust in Jesus. And you could see what a heavy thought that is. You could see how that got the kids’ attention. Wait a minute, we only can get this right now. At some point, it will be too late. Wow, that brings a sense of urgency to life. That brings a sense of begging the question: if the king is coming, and if the king is going to judge when he comes, am I ready for the return of the king? And this is what really is so sad about how Christians study eschatology, the study of the end things, of the last days, the study of how the time is near and the end is coming. They try to figure out when it's going to be in the future, rather than asking a more important question. Am I ready right now? That's the point of Revelation. That's the point of Jesus' teaching in all of that discourse. Not to try to figure out when is it going to happen, but to examine yourself in this present moment. Are you ready for the return of the king? Have you cried because he came to die? Or are you still yet going to cry because he comes to judge.
Let's get that down for point number three: You either cry because he came to die, or you cry because he comes to judge. And that moment will come for those who do not repent of their sin, and do not put their faith in Jesus, and do not hear the prophecy, and look and see him there on the cross bleeding out on that tree for their sin. Well, if Jesus doesn't get judged for your sin, then you will get judged for your sin. Okay. We’ve got to understand the patience of God, the mercy of God. A lot of people are making a mistake. And they are assuming that the patience of God is weakness, and the kindness of God that is meant to give people time to give people an opportunity to repent. A lot of people are thinking that God is so kind, he's just going to let them get away with it. That is not what the Scripture teaches. Every sin is going to be judged, all sin will be judged. It's either judged on Jesus on the cross, or it's judged on Judgement Day, and you're judged according to what you have done. And the fact that you're going to be judged for what you have done, you're going to realize that soon, or you're going to realize that later. And when you realize it, and you can see Jesus, it's the most amazing experience you can have, as someone made in the image of God. And you don't want to wait until it's too late. And you realize you're going to be judged for what you've done. And it's a horrific whaling experience.
That is the warning of the prophecy. See, the level of irony is so deep that, like people are acting like, well, it's been two thousand years. If God is coming back, where's the sign of his return? If God wants to judge me, why doesn’t he strike me down right now? Can you hear the scoffer? Can you hear the mocker? Two thousand years doesn't sound soon to me, doesn't sound like he's coming back quickly to me, ha, I guess he's not coming. The whole reason he's waited two thousand years, so we can repent and believe before it's too late. Even with the breath that people mock God and take his name in vain, he's giving it to them as an opportunity to repent before their time runs out. So many people don't understand the patience, the long suffering, the kindness of God, that even now he does not want to judge them. He wants to save them. So today is the day of salvation. This is the time because there is coming a moment where it will be too late, and the weeping and gnashing of teeth that will take place. You don't want to be a part of that. And the only way to prepare yourself is by hearing prophecy like this. Because it's too late when you learn by experience when it comes to judgment. Look what Jesus says in Matthew 24:36-44, he says “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Please don't leave here today and try to figure out when Jesus is coming. Ask yourself right now, are you ready for Jesus to come? Who here is ready for the return of the king? Who here can say today without a shadow of doubt in their soul? Come Lord Jesus, I'm ready to meet you. I'm ready to go. Let's usher in the kingdom together. Because if you can't say that today, you should consider your soul, and get yourself ready because he is coming. And when did he say he's coming, everybody? He said he's coming. When? Soon is when he said. I want to read for you go to Revelation 19:11. When we've looked at Verse 7, where it says they're going to wail when he comes, well, you can see why when you read Revelation 19:11-16. When he gives us a more in-depth look at that moment when he comes on the clouds. Here's Jesus riding out of the heavens to come and judge the world. And you can see why people would wail at this picture. You can see why people would be terrified. If you found yourself as an enemy on the wrong side of King Jesus coming back. Follow along as I read this description in Revelation 19:11-16. “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule[b] them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”
See when you are still in your sin, and you see Jesus right out of heaven, and you realize it's too late, and Judgment Day has come, you will weep. You will mourn. All sin will be paid for. And I pray that you will hear the words of this prophecy, and you will trust in Jesus that he paid for your sin on the cross. And you will have your eyes open to see that he died for you. Because you don't want to wait till this day to see your sin get addressed by Jesus. This is terrifying. And to see the eyes pop in our little kids’ precious faces as they realize that people are going to run out of time. And it's going to be too late. And one of the questions I kept asking them is, when is Jesus coming? And all the hands go up ,reaching towards the ceiling. And this was one they could all get. Soon. He's coming soon. And so, I would ask them, well, what does it mean that he's coming soon? And I remember one little boy, he was like, “In two minutes.” Right? In two minutes, because what does soon mean soon? And this Boy's mind was, two minutes. I heard two months. I heard two hours. See, this is where our mind goes. When is soon? How long is “soon”? how much time do I have? And then you would start getting some right answers: At any time, at any moment. Let's see. The idea of that he's coming soon. Go over to Revelation 22:7, because in the last chapter of the Scripture, Jesus says specifically in the first person three different times, like he says here in verse 7, he says, “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed as the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” Or look at verse 12, where he says, “Behold,” like, can you see this? Can you look at this? I am coming soon. And when he comes, “I'm bringing my recompense with me to repay each one for what he has done.” Like, I'm bringing my rewards, and I'm bringing my consequences. Like, I'm coming, and I'm coming soon. And when I come, you're going to be judged, and you're either on Team Jesus serving the king, or you're going to be separated from him, and judged according to your sins, according to what you have done. And he says, I'm coming. And soon. See, I think we're always trying to figure out when “soon” is, and then you realize “soon” could mean, at any moment. So, you always need to be ready. But one of the main ways I hear people use the word “soon” is when they say, wow, that happened sooner than I thought. And one of the main ways I hear people say that is people here at the church, who have kids, that are older and more grown up than my kids, they say things to me, like, hey, enjoy those moments with your kids, because they grow up so soon. And when Jesus comes, all the things that we're living for, all the political things that we think are so important, all the money that we think we need to have, all the perfect situation we're trying to get in our circumstances and our relationships right now. When King Jesus comes, it'll feel like he came so soon. And all the things people on planet earth, all the tribes of the earth were living for, they don't matter now that the kingdom is here. And wow, we're going to look, and we're going to say to one another, the Kingdom came, wow, it happened sooner than I thought.
The only way to be prepared for Jesus coming soon is to be ready right now. If you can hear his voice today, if you can hear the words of this prophecy, if you can hear the revelation of Jesus Christ, I want to encourage you, turn to Jesus and trust in him to pay for your sin. Now, you don't want him dealing with your sin later because he is coming soon. And he says it a third time. Look at verse Revelation 22:20. “He who testifies to these things says, “’Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” See, this is how God's people, this is how the church has responded when this message of the Kingdom has been preached. When this revelation of Jesus has been made known, that one is coming on the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth, they will wail on account of him, even so Amen. The believer, the one whose sin has been forgiven, the one who loves Jesus in their heart, they have always responded with “Come Lord Jesus, Maranatha. I want to see His glory.” I don't care if I'm seeing purple spots for weeks, I want to behold the glory of the Lord. And it's not just because I'm tired of America. It's not just because I'm getting old and my body's not working the way that it used to. It's not just because I'm becoming a grumpy face, and I'm tired of how life is going, and I'm bitter about this. No, it's because I actually want to see the glory. I actually want to be in the presence of the one that I love, the one who would love me so much that he would lay down his life, even though he is the king, and I am just one of his peasants, that he would lay down his life for me on the cross. I want to be with him. I want to thank him in person. I'm tired of a long distance by faith relationship, and I want my faith to become sight and I want to see Jesus, the one that I love, and I want to be with him. Because that will be the rapture of my soul's delight. That will be the passion, the joy, the moment that I have been waiting for all of my life. It will all be fulfilled upon seeing my Lord Jesus revealed. It will be the climax of everything I have ever experienced. And I cannot wait for Jesus to come and save me from the wrath that is to come and show me his eternal life. That's what it is. It's people who really love Jesus. Are you one of those people? Are you one of the people who are like, yeah, I would be fine with Jesus coming today because that's the whole reason I'm living my life is the king is coming. See, are you one of those people who look back at verse 17. It says, “The Spirit and the Bride say ‘come.’” That's the church. The church has like come and the one who really gets what is being said in the prophecies of Revelation, they say, Come. And then there's this beautiful invitation right here. “And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” See, if your soul has been satisfied by Jesus saving you, then you want Jesus to come. You say, come Lord Jesus, because you know he's what you've been longing for. He's your first love. But if you know you're still longing for something, you're still missing out on soul satisfaction, you're still searching for life down here on planet earth, when life is going to come on the clouds. Well, if you want, you can come to the fountain of living waters, you can come to the one who has the water of life, you can come and eat and drink for free and find real life in Jesus. Before Jesus comes, make sure you come to Jesus. Because I promise you this, Jesus is coming. And every one of us will see Jesus, and we will either have the greatest experience that has ever been known, or we will have the most horrible experience you can ever imagine. And Jesus is the difference maker for eternity. It is his story. We just live in it. We are the peasantry; he is the king. And I hope that you have already come to see Jesus on the cross. So that when I say he's coming soon, you're not afraid. But you say, Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. So, we want to give everybody here, this is a moment for you right now, to really talk to Jesus. And you can thank him for coming and dying on that cross for you and already paying for your sin. Or you can call out to him, and ask him even now to forgive your sin, so that you will be ready when he comes to judge because soon and very soon, our King is coming.
And so, we want to just have the worship team sing this song, and you can worship as you pray to Jesus. And you can imagine, what is it going to be like when one comes riding on the clouds, and every eye sees him. What is it going to be like for you who loved Jesus, who believe in Jesus, to see the one you love, and to be with him forever in his Kingdom? Let me pray for us.
Father in heaven, we thank you that we got to hear the words of this prophecy today. We thank you that not only the children get to come to Jesus, but every man and woman gets revealed to them ahead of time that Jesus, the King, is coming back to judge the world and to establish an everlasting kingdom, and that no one, no one will be able to destroy the kingdom of Jesus. In fact, all of those who oppose Jesus, all the kings and nations of the earth that allied together against Jesus, at the very moment he is revealed, that the very moment that they see his glory filling up the heavens, they will weep. And they will mourn. And they will wail because even just seeing Jesus it will be revealed to them, no one is defeating him. No one can stand against him. No one dares to be in the way of the King when he comes. So, Father, thank you for the prophecy. Thank you that we could hear it, that our precious kids could hear about Jesus. Thank you that all the parents, everybody here could know beforehand, before it's too late. And that they would have a moment like this precious moment to worship Jesus, to thank him for already coming. What a humble King to die for sinners like me. Father, we thank you that You sent your son out of love. We thank you that he's coming back again. And all of us who love Jesus, all of us who’ve seen that he died for our sins we say together now: Come, Lord Jesus.