The second advent of Jesus Christ is described as a future event where he will physically return to the earth, specifically to the Mount of Olives, causing it to split. This event, distinct from the rapture, will be a public appearance witnessed by all, including those who pierced him, and will usher in a period of judgment. The sermon contrasts this with the rapture, where believers are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, emphasizing that the second advent is a time of judgment for the unsaved and a prelude to the millennial reign. The ultimate fate of those who reject Christ is the lake of fire, while believers find their hope in Christ's return.
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As I've already said, if the lights do go out, don't panic, don't run, just get me first. I'm going to be sure I get out of here safe and sound one way or another tonight. But I'll tell you, I've never met such a good display of Christian love as my wife and I have found here in the metropolis of Lyman. Is it Iowa? It's got to be Iowa. We really do appreciate every one of you and your kindness is shown to us and we deeply appreciate it I'm going to ask you to do one thing for us and that's pray for us please do pray for us and some would say well what do you need prayer for everything we don't mind we're not bashful and we're not ashamed we need prayer for everything because we're learning Notice I said we're learning because we have not learned.
But we're learning that our sufficiency is of God. And if there's anything done through these clay lips of ours, it must be by the Spirit of God. We're learning that verse not by might nor by power. I've seen a lot of preachers with power. Well, I don't have any. but not by might nor by power of ourselves, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. And so you just pray for us any way you please. We'll accept all your prayers and be thankful for them.
So thank you for letting us come. It's been our privilege. It's always our privilege to serve the Lord and His people. And that's what we're attempting to do to what we've dedicated our feeble lives to is to the service of God and to His people. So if ever we can be of service to you, don't hesitate to call on us. We'll make every effort to do everything we can to be of service, first to God and then to you. I think that's a good order, don't you?
Praise the Lord. Well, I'm taking a lot of time and I always make the mistake of saying that I want to cover this much and thus much and you can't hardly do that in thirty minutes, can you? So I'm going to ask you to turn quickly to Zechariah chapter fourteen. Zechariah chapter fourteen. It sometimes leaves me with a feeling of exasperation when I come to a last night of a little short series of meetings like this or to a long series. Because I always look back and say, oh, I wish I had just said one more thing about the Blessed Lord.
So let me say tonight this to you who are sitting here, maybe you are all Christians, maybe you're not. The blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanses from all sin. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses from all sin. Again, at the center of the chart stands the cross of Christ, the hub of everything. We're going to move on tonight, and I'll mention to you once again that these lines on the chart are extremely important. And so I'm glad to see some of you have moved a few seats closer to the front.
I think I've been successful. I really feel like that if I were to sit down now, I would have won a great battle and had a great success here at Lineland. So thank you very much. You've made me feel good by just moving forward to a three-seat. Bless your heart. But there is a gold line, and I want you to notice it ascends into the heaven here, and I told you yesterday that that indicates where Christ is at. during any period of time on this chart, I would like to say keep your eye on the golden line, because we're going to first go over and do something. We're going to talk just briefly about the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, or his second coming or arrival to the earth.
View of that, look at Zechariah chapter fourteen, beginning with verse four. Now, did you do your homework? I'm going to shame you now. Did you read First Corinthians? I hope you read the whole chapter, but at least some of those verses that we read in particular, verse eleven. But anyway, if you didn't, well, shame on you and we'll just go along and see what happens. All right. It's going to be important, though, that you'll remember something about verse eleven of First Corinthians, and that's the clouds. And also it's going to be important tonight that you remember from where did the Lord Jesus Christ ascend back into heaven after his resurrection.
As I told you in the beginning, God does nothing by chance or it's not haphazard, it's by an order. God has a plan and God is sticking to his plan. You and I cannot thwart God's plan. I often and I feel I must tell even this beautiful group of Christians that God's will will be accomplished irregardless of you and I. But what a shame and what a loss for us. Some think that we can thwart God's plans that if we don't carry out our part, God will fail. No, we will fail and we will lose reward, but God's plan will be fulfilled. But we will be the loser if God has chosen primarily to use us and we fail to let him do so.
So I just would remind us tonight, it's important to notice these little things. Look now in regards to the Mount of Olivet. If you look up here, he ascended back into heaven from a place outside of Jerusalem about a Sabbath day's journey or about something a little under five thousand feet, a little less than a mile. That was a Sabbath day's journey according to the Jewish customs. And so he ascended up from the Mount of Olives. If you remember there in Acts chapter one, It says, ye shall so see him come in like manner. I think there we have at least a picture of not only the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, but also that event we call the rapture.
We'll get into that more later. But now notice verse four of Zechariah chapter fourteen and his feet. This is, of course, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, okay? 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. Now, did this happen in Acts chapter one? Did the Mount of Olives cleave? Do you read anything there about it splitting in the middle? Of course you don't. So we're not talking about his return in going into heaven, are we? This is something else. So we're about to talk about his second advent.
because it says plainly, and his feet, 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 thereout 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. Now drop down to verse five, and just the last part, and the Lord, my God, shall come and A-double-L, all the saints with thee. That little word, A-double-L, is like the little word, T-H-E, that I first spoke to you about Sunday morning.
Very important word. And so, let me say, we're talking about an event where the Lord Jesus Christ sees, touches the Mount of Olives, and it cleaves or it splits in the midst. It splits in the middle there and half of it removes towards the east and half towards the west. All right, let's look on the chart. Did that happen here? Of course not. We don't read anything in Acts chapter one there about that. We read about his ascension. All right, let's follow the gold line. We come over here, it goes along and suddenly it dips down. But why do we not want to stay here?
We don't want to stay here, do we, if we're going to talk about the second advent. Think a moment. Why? It doesn't touch the earth, does it? To be an advent, it must touch the earth. So we're going to get back to this event. So let's continue to follow the gold line. It goes back into the heaven. It comes over for a certain period of time. And then suddenly it descends. And where does it come to? The little mount of all of it. And if you notice, the gold line actually... touches. That brings us to Zechariah chapter fourteen. And so we're right here in relation to the chart. We're right here and he touches the earth. So we have come to the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He actually touches the earth. Now there's something interesting for you people who like this kind of thing. The little mouth of all of it. It's very prominent in scripture, isn't it? and it says it's going to cleave in the midst. Another place we read about a great earthquake and so on. But I am told by geologists that there is in the little mount of Olivet today a fault. Do you know what a fault is? It's a crack, so to speak. That's the best way to describe it. It's a crack in that little mount of Olivet. It's there, and it's exactly in the right position so that if the right magnitude of an earthquake or whatever God deems to use, when Christ's feet touch that little mount of Olivet, that little mountain is already prepared, and I believe prepared of God way back here, prepared of God way back there for what God is going to do down the road here at least seven years.
We'll get back to that seven years in a minute. But at least seven years down the road, at least that, Let me say that again. When the Lord's feet touch on the low mountain of olives, God has already set it in His plan. You see, Christian, I'm trying to emphasize to the glory of God how magnificent our God is, how all-knowing, all-sufficient, all-wise our God is, and how things do not catch you by surprise. God planned this from an eternity past. The little fault, I believe in the Mount of Olives, because one day it will cleave in the midst. In other words, it will split in the midst. Half of it will remove toward the east and half of it toward the west.
If we had time tonight, I could show you how beautifully this is going to be used of God to change the face of the land of Palestine. Because today the land of Palestine is rather arid and dry, and a lot of it is really unusable except There should be water, and that's something that they lack. And also we would find out this, the little cleaving of the little mouth of olives is going to make Jerusalem the seaport of the world in a coming day. It's going to make it the hub of the world. You know, we think of the United States as being the hub of the world. Now listen, in case you're making a tape, I better explain this.
I love America. And I'm proud to live in America, and I thank God for America. I'm strictly very thankful to God, and I pray to God that it will remain this way until the Lord comes back in the air. But, you know, in a coming day, God will move the center of all of his dealings to where it was in the Old Testament times. He'll move it back to the city of Jerusalem. We were speaking on the millennial reign of Christ. You would see that. And you would see how some of these physical changes are going to be marvelously wrought by God and bring the land of Palestine to fruition to a beautiful place of great productivity. So anyway, the Lord's feet touch and that little mount cleaves in the midst, half out of it towards the east, half out of it towards the west.
This is the second Advent, right? But now notice, and this is important, the last of verse five again, and the Lord my God shall come with all the saints with thee. All right. Turn over to the book of Revelation and chapter one. The book of Revelation and chapter one. There's just so many loose ends I'd like to tie up, but we'll just leave you to do some study on your own after we're gone. Revelation chapter one. And these are little things. Remember, I try to be consistent. I started off Sunday telling you, I'm going to challenge you with the little things of Scripture, not the great big things that you think you know and I think I know and so forth, but I'm challenging you to look more closely at the Word of God.
So in Revelation chapter one, verse seven, it says, Behold, he cometh, could be no other than the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's who it is. Behold, he cometh with clouds, for if you read about the clouds. Acts chapter one, verse eleven, wasn't it? God says he's going to come again in light manner as you see him go. He was received up into the cloud. Here he's coming down through the clouds. And notice, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him. Who could this, what nationality of people could we say pierced the Lord Jesus Christ? National Jew.
The Jew. Israel. The Jew. They were the ones who, it's spoken out so much as they pierced him, you know. So it says, they also which pierced him, and notice. And all, there's the word again, all. And all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him, even so, amen. Here I find out something else. The second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, or he's coming back to touch on the little mouth of Olives, is going to be a public appearing. A public appearing. That's important to note because it says here, he's coming in the clouds.
That's what was said in Acts chapter one, verse eleven. God is fulfilling every jot and tittle of his word. Christian, you ought to look at the continuity and of the word of God and the minuteness of detail that the Spirit leaves us because he's going to come as you see him go. That's what the two men in white apparel said. here in the detail of the clouds even. We read here and in another place, he comes back through the clouds, but he comes on down to the earth because it says, And every eye shall see him. And they also, which pierced him, Jew, Gentile, all kindreds of the earth. Notice this.
Now these are keys, and I'm having to throw them out so fast tonight. But some people think that the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ and the event we call the rapture occur at the same time and are the same thing, the same event. But if you look just at the little details here, remember we're talking about his second advent is coming to the Mount of Olives, not the rapture. First of all, we see that every eye shall see him. I don't think they will at the rapture. We'll talk about that in a minute. And it says, they also, which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth, notice this, shall wail because of him. Let me ask you something.
Those who will see his coming in the air, are they going to wail? In other words, this word wail means to cry or be sorry or lament or, you know, to be all tore up because you're going to be stricken. You know, he's coming here, in other words, in judgment. The second advent is his coming in judgment. His coming in the air, notice I qualify that. In the air is not in judgment, is it? Of course not. He's coming to rapture his home to heaven. So again, we can see a distinction here of his actual second advent when he touches the earth that every eye is going to see him.
And there's going to be millions that are sorry. They're going to be in trouble because he's coming in judgment. Okay? For a little further... Demonstration of this, go to Revelation chapter nineteen. Revelation chapter nineteen. Aren't these familiar scriptures? Have you looked at the little words lately? All, kindred, every eye, quailed, have you, A-I-L? That's a little word. But think what it's telling you in these verses. How can these people be so mixed up that the rapture and the second advent are all one? because we're going to talk in about ten minutes, or far about ten minutes about the rapture.
It looks like all the time we're going to have. Okay, verse eleven of chapter nineteen. And I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, and he that set upon him was called, faithful and true, and in righteousness, righteousness he doth judge and make war. Could be none but the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't this beautiful? His eyes were as a flame a fire, and on his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. There can be no mistaking. This is the Lord Jesus Christ. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
And out of his mouth goeth a short sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of the almighty God, and so forth. We just don't have time. All right, now again, let's notice. First of all, this is quite apparent that he's coming back in judgment, because verse fifteen says that he should smite the nations, he will rule them with a rod of iron, And he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. So everything here is to show us that this passage is speaking of when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back to the earth in judgment.
So quickly it can be no other time than right here. At the end of the seven years of Daniel's last week, the Lord comes back and touches right where he said he would back in Acts chapter one. on the Mount of Olives. So I know where the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back in his second Advent. You want to know something? They knew where he was coming in his first Advent. That is, some did. Because when the wise men, notice I didn't say three, I'm pretty good tonight, I'm remembering, that when the wise men came, the scribes looked into the scriptures and they were able to say, in Judah and even in Bethlehem, the house of bread.
Think about that. God had even put in his word way back there that Christ in his first Advent was coming to Bethlehem. God today is still telling us in his word that in Christ's second Advent, he's telling us exactly where he's coming. He's coming to the Mount of Olives. And beloved, if you are a child of God here tonight, that's where you're going to be. Should the Lord come in the air tonight, that's the next place that you will come to on the face of the earth, I believe. Well, all right, now I hesitate to even read a little bit, but I guess we must.
First Thessalonians chapter four. First Thessalonians in chapter four. We'll make it brief. And you all know these verses so well from thirteen through eighteen. But let's read them anyway. Let's see. All right. Verse fourteen. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. Now skip on down. to verse seventeen. Then we, which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them, where? In the cloud.
To meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we. Here's another little bitty word. Either ye or ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. All right, beloved, look at the chart. Let me come back again. Christ ascended How many days after his resurrection? Forty. He ascended back into heaven. We go along following the gold line. Now in First Thessalonians chapter four we have read, and it's indicated on the chart by the gold line where he dips down into the air, but notice he doesn't touch the earth, but something else occurs. We have a blue line rising up from the earth and joining the gold line.
The blue line from this point on represents in particular the bride of Christ the church those to whom first Thessalonians and the verses we've just been reading about is speaking those in verse seventeen then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air now here we go are you following me so here we're talking about that event the rapture how many of you found that in your Bible how many of you looked don't raise your hands and embarrass me but no You can't really find the word rapture in the original King James Version. It's not there. But the thought is there, because you know what the word rapture means?
It means a snatching away, a catching up. Now, in some versions it may be there, but in the original it's not there. The word rapture is not there, honestly. But the thought of the word rapture is a snatching away, a catching up. And that's exactly what's going to happen here, and we have to be so brief at this moment in time. And by the way, we need to get Israel, we need to get the temple built again, don't we, before this could happen. Don't we? Absolutely not. There's no prophetic thing to be fulfilled before the Lord Jesus Christ could come in the air.
He could come at any instant. There's nothing awaiting fulfillment. It's just His will when He comes. That is, it's the Father's will. It could come at any instant. So should this event occur, should the Lord Jesus Christ, as it were, step out of heaven into the air, into the clouds, then we which are alive, our bodies would be changed in the moment in the twinkling of an eye, according to First Corinthians, fifteen, fifty-two, or thereabouts, and we'd be caught up, and those who have been coming back, that is their spirits and souls with the Lord Jesus Christ, Their bodies will be resurrected and changed and joined with their spirits and souls and together, not one preceding the other, not overcomers and then us poor little fellas, but all together will be caught up into the air through the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
We'll be caught up together. And this is what we call the rapture. It's a sudden event. It's a snatching away out of this world to meet the Lord in the air. Okay, now let me tell you this. From this point on, look, are the blue line and the gold line ever really separated? Absolutely not. Because I think the designer wanted to tell us what verse eighteen says, or what the last of verse seventeen says. So shall we ever be with the Lord. Isn't that marvelous? Isn't that marvelous? That to me is grand. So you'll notice from this point on on the chart, from this event we called the rapture, the catching up.
The blue line and the gold line are linked together even here at this point in time, the second advent, when he touches on the Mount of Olives. It says his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives and so forth. So we're with him. Notice even through the rest of time we're together and for all eternity for that matter. But now I'm going to just take the next five minutes and I'm going to pose some questions and then I'm going to give you the answers as I see them. As I see the Scripture, that's the way I'm going to answer it. Dear Brother Kessler, many years ago, was preaching. And if you know him at all, you know he's a grand man.
And he was preaching, and after the meeting, just as he got through, he was about to step down off the platform, a young man run up and just almost grabbed him and said, you're not right. That's wrong. Now, that's not the way it is. And dear Brother Kessler, I wish I had his poise. He just simply looked at the young man and kind of raised up his finger and pointed at him. He says, well, young man, he says, that's the way I see it. And that's the way I preach it. And just walked off. He didn't argue, didn't do anything else. He just said, young man, that's the way I see it. And that's the way I preach it. And he walked off. So tonight I say, that's the way I see it. And I'm not going to walk off or anything, but that's the way I see it. So one of the things is, I believe that when this rapture, this event we call the rapture occurs, I believe that almost immediately Daniel's seventieth week begins.
And that's a week of years, or in other words, seven. How many days in a week? Seven. This period is again a time that God lets us know about. Remember we started off talking about time on Sunday. We're still talking about time also. We know the time. There are times that we do know. And don't be ashamed of it. Tell them. So this is seven years. Then the Lord comes back in his second advent in judgment upon those during this period of time, during this seven years. And then begins this period of time that we call the millennium. The millennium. And that word simply means thousand. And I believe that to be a thousand literal years.
I have no reason to believe otherwise if you read the Scripture. Then notice down on the end of the chart here, at the end of the millennium, you see this little black dots and it says a little season. Now the reason I'm giving you this is because some people say, Glenn, can you tell me when the end of the world is going to be? You know, when I was first born again, when I first became a Christian, I kind of thought that at any instant, boom, like that thunder out there. And the world would be over and I'd be standing up there, you know. Pardon me. I'd be spending too much good food. I'd be standing up there, and that's the way the world would end. And I was kind of afraid. You know, people today, unbelievers especially say, well, when is the world going to end?
And I'd say, friend, don't you worry about the end of the world. You worry about receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. Because if you do not receive Christ as your Savior, you're going to hell. You know, people don't like that kind of preaching today, but I even do that on the radio. It hasn't thrown me off yet. But believe me, that's just the way it is. If you don't trust Christ, you're going to hell. If you trust Christ, you're going to heaven. Both beginning with H, but what a difference. And so I just plainly tell them that. And they say, oh, but maybe if I just wait till the end of the world, my good works will outweigh my bad. And I tell them right quick, there's not going to be a person in this room that's going to be around in this body as it is now for the end of the world.
And as far as those without Christ, let me tell you something. You're going to be long dead before the end of the world. Anybody that might be here tonight unsaved, anybody that's never received Christ, let me tell you something. Don't worry about the end of the world because you're not going to live to it. Don't worry about what's going to happen at the end of the world if suddenly it's going to fall and brimstone and all that's going to melt you up and burn you up and all that. Don't worry about it because you're not going to be here. That's pretty strong language. But let me challenge you. I can tell you And brother, you keep your seats. Don't you run up here and get me. But I can tell you when the end of the world is coming, providing you can tell me one thing. If you can tell me when the rapture is going to occur.
If you can tell me when this event is going to occur, I can tell you when the end of the world is going to be. All right, let's just for a moment allow me, please, to suppose, play like. Did you ever play like when you was a boy or little girl even? Let's play like I'm Superman. I tried that one time, jumped off a barn or something like a broken foot. But anyway, let's play like, or forgive me, I shouldn't be so facetious maybe, but should the Lord, if you could tell me the Lord's coming in the next thirty seconds, I could say, all right, as soon as the Lord comes in the air, then seven years plus a thousand and a little season and the world will end. Let me put it another way. The world, should the Lord Jesus Christ come this moment, the world still will not end for a thousand and seven years and a little season.
Here's the seven years, here's the thousandth and the little season. Now people ask me, how long is the little season? I'll be frank with you, I don't know. But we know from the words of Scripture and from the context and other things there that it must be a very, very, very short period of time. So can you see why I'm saying, if there should be an unbeliever here tonight, should there be anyone without Christ, don't worry about the end of the world, you're not going to be around for it. Because you're not going to live a thousand and seven years in little season. What you need to worry about is this event, really. Because you know something, I know men here who preach the gospel. Thank God for those who still do. You know, I almost sometimes weep because we're not hardly preaching the gospel anymore.
But anyway, there are those here. I'm convinced. Brother Harold came down to Burlington, Colorado and went over for a Bible study, and he even preached the gospel at Burlington. Shame on you, brother. We loved it. And so, you know, but if this is the event that unbelievers need to be concerned about, because if you've heard the gospel and all of you here have, if you've heard the gospel, but you're rejecting Christ, now this is something I believe, that if the Lord Jesus Christ should come right now, you'd enter this seven years unsaved and you would forever be lost I'm one of those who believe there's no second chance neither after death nor if you heard the gospel neither is there a second chance after the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the air you're doomed to hell second Thessalonians tells us that you're going to believe a lie You know something else I can tell you, with sadness in my heart.
For those who reject Christ, and that's what you're doing, you've never received Him. Your ultimate destination is not hell, or you'll go there when you die immediately. That is your spirit and your soul, for only the body dies and goes into the ground. But ultimately, you're going to a far worse place, and if you look down on the end of the chart down here, You'll see this place called the Lake of Fire. That's the eternal destination of all who reject Christ. I don't think I could close this meeting any better and still hold some time than to tell you, for the child of God, our hope is not in a better world, but in the coming of Christ.
We should be preaching the gospel not for a better world, but to see sinners saved. Because the world is not going to get better. You say, you're a pessimist. No, I'm not. I'm a believer in the scriptures. And I'm told that things are waxed worse and worse. I'm not a pessimist. Actually, I'm an optimist. I'm not a pessimist. So things are going to wax worse and worse. But, beloved, there's an escape. There's a way to escape. It's through the blessed work of the Lord Jesus Christ. once you receive Christ. You know, I never leave a place without preaching the gospel a little bit because I learned my lesson several years ago. A man down in Houston, Texas, who had been looked upon as an elder for many years.
He claimed to be a Christian, took the place of an elder in a very prominent meeting. Suddenly one day, I don't know just how it came about, but I met him afterwards and heard it from his own mouth that it's true. One day he woke up to the fact, I'm not even saved. An elder, that is a man recognized as an elder in a meeting of the assembly of God's people. And the Spirit of God finally got through to his heart and he was gloriously saved. He told me the story himself as far as he didn't give me all the details, we didn't have time. But he said, Glenn, that's true.
That's true. I could give you his name. I'm not going to, but I could give you his name. And he told me, he said, Glenn, I went for years. And I just thought I was saved. He said, but I came to the end of myself that day, and I suddenly realized as a boat out of the blue, I'm not even saved. So people say, Glenn, why do you preach the gospel to Christians? Number one, to stir the Christians up, to get out and preach the gospel themselves. Number two, because I can't see your heart, only God can. And you may be telling me, You may be telling your wife, you may be telling your husband, you may be telling everybody, I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved. And be on your way to hell. God forbid.
I want to leave Lyman with my hands clear of all men for having preached the gospel. Therefore, I better quit. I have to leave us through the side door. Shall we bow our heads, please? Thank you. Heavenly Father, in Christ's name, We commit these little series of meetings to thee and ask, blessed God, that you take thy word and reach into hearts and change lives as only thou canst. And, O Father, we ask these things for the glory of our soon-coming Savior, the blessed Lord Jesus Christ, and in his name, amen.