Message Four

The Revelation of Christ in His Coming Back
and the Prophecy of the Four “Sevens”
concerning the Consummation of the Age

Scripture Reading: Rev. 1:7; 3:3; 16:15; 10:1;
18:1; 19:7-9a, 19-20

1. We need to see the full revelation of Christ in His coming back—1:7:
   1. The revelation of the person of Christ in His coming back:
      1. In His coming back Christ will be the Son of Man—14:14; Matt. 26:64; 24:27, 30, 37, 39, 44.
      2. At His second appearing Christ will be the morning star to His overcomers who watch for His coming—Rev. 22:16; 2:28.
      3. Matthew 25:1 indicates that in His coming back Christ will be the Bridegroom, the most pleasant and attractive person in the universe, coming for His bride—Rev. 19:7-9a.
      4. At the end of the age of grace, Christ in His coming back will be the Savior to Israel— Rom. 11:26; Zech. 12:10.
      5. In Acts 17:31 Paul indicates that Christ in His coming back will be a Judge to the Gentiles.
      6. According to Revelation 10:1-7 Christ will come as another Angel to take possession of the earth.
   2. The revelation of the work of Christ at His coming back:
      1. The first aspect of Christ’s work at His coming back will be to reap the firstfruits— 14:1-5.
      2. Toward the end of the tribulation, Christ will catch up the majority of the saints in the clouds (1 Thes. 4:16-17); this will be the reaping of the harvest—Rev. 14:14-16.
      3. Christ will set up His judgment seat to judge all the believers, assigning them either a reward or some kind of punishment—22:12; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 4:5; Rom. 14:10b.
      4. In His work at His coming back, Christ will marry the overcoming saints—Rev. 19:7-9a.
      5. After Christ marries the overcomers, He will slay Antichrist—2 Thes. 2:8; Rev. 19:19-20.
      6. At His coming back Christ will gather and save all the tribes of Israel—1:7; Rom. 11:26; Matt. 24:30-31; Zech. 12:10-14.
      7. In His work at His coming back, Christ will judge the Gentiles, the living peoples—Acts 17:31; Matt. 25:31-46.
   3. The coming back of Christ has a secret aspect and an open aspect—Rev. 3:3; 16:15; 1:7; 18:1:
      1. In the secret aspect of His coming back, Christ will come as a thief to those who love Him and will take them away as His treasures—3:3; 16:15; Matt. 24:43:
         1. The time of Christ’s secret coming is unknown—Rev. 3:3; Matt. 24:36, 42; 25:13.
         2. The place of the secret aspect of Christ’s coming will be in the cloud to the air—Rev. 10:1; 1 Thes. 4:17.
         3. Christ’s secret coming will be a reward to the watching believers—Rev. 2:28; Matt. 24:42, 44.
      2. In the open aspect of His coming back, Christ will come with power and great glory to be seen by all the tribes of the land—Rev. 1:7:
         1. The time of this open aspect will be at the last trumpet, at the end of the great tribulation—18:1; Matt. 24:15, 21, 27; 1 Thes. 4:16; 1 Cor. 15:52; 2 Thes. 2:1-4, 8.
         2. The place of the open aspect of Christ’s coming back will be on the cloud to the earth—Rev. 1:7; 14:14; Matt. 24:30; Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:11-12.
         3. When Christ comes openly, He will come with the overcoming saints to fight against Antichrist and his army at Armageddon— Rev. 19:11-21; 17:13-14; 16:12-16; Zech. 14:3, 5; 2 Thes. 2:8.
2. The coming back of Christ is related to the prophecy of the four “sevens”—Dan. 9:24-27; Rev. 5:1; 8:2; 16:1:
   1. The first “seven” is the prophecy concerning the last seven years of the present age—the last of the seventy weeks—Dan. 9:24-27.
   2. The second “seven” is the prophecy concerning the seven seals—Rev. 5:1-7; 6:1-17; 8:1-2.
   3. The third “seven” is the prophecy concerning the seven trumpets—8:1—9:21; 10:7; 11:15-18.
   4. The fourth “seven” is the prophecy concerning the seven bowls—15:7; 16:1-12, 17-21.
   5. Nearly all the crucial matters of the final seven years of this present age will be crowded into the last three and a half years, the time of the great tribulation—Matt. 24:21, 29; Dan. 12:1; Rev. 11:15.
3. As believers in Christ, we need to have a proper attitude toward the coming back of Christ— 2 Tim. 4:8; Rev. 22:20:
   1. We should love the Lord’s appearing—2 Tim. 4:8.
   2. We should eagerly await His return and call for His return—Phil. 3:20; 1 Thes. 1:10; Rev. 22:20.
   3. We should give heed to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place—2 Pet. 1:19.
   4. We should be watchful and be ready—Matt. 24:42-44; 25:13.
   5. We need to take heed to ourselves lest our hearts be weighed down with debauchery and drunkenness and the anxieties of life—Luke 21:34-35.
   6. We need to be watchful at every time, beseeching that we may prevail to escape all the things which are about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man—Luke 21:36.
   7. We should be prudent virgins and faithful and prudent slaves—Matt. 25:4, 10; 24:45-51; 25:19-30.
   8. We need to keep the word of the Lord’s endurance—Rev. 3:10.