Introduction:

One of the clearest scriptures referring to the descent of Christ from heaven to this earth again in person is to be found in Zechariah 14 v 3-4.

"Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south"

What a wonderful thought! What comfort and joy such a truth brings! The Lord himself shall stand once more upon this old planet, and we shall see Him as He is, not as He was.

He will come to quell wickedness, and subdue every evil force.

In the words of scripture he will "make crooked things straight and rough places plain."

In this 14th chapter of Zechariah there is a very clear description of a great battle that is fought outside the city of Jerusalem.

The inhabitants of Jerusalem are finding it hard to say the least, the invading force has surrounded them. Jerusalem is taken, the houses rifled, the woman dishonoured, and half the inhabitants taken captive, the little residue a forlorn group, cut off from the city. Suddenly, against the sombre background of this dark forbidding picture there flashes the wonderful announcement, "then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations"

The Lord descends to the earth for the relief of the sons of Abraham, the children of the covenant. Extraordinary convulsions add amazing awe to the splendour of His wonderful appearing. The mountains split beneath his feet, the earth quakes and shakes. The destroyers are destroyed; the remnant is relieved, and the one who once died with an inscription written over his head, "This is the king of the Jews" comes to prove it so! Oh, what a moment!

And listen! Listen! Beloved, you cannot read such an account without remembering with great clarity the angelic words.

"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" Acts 1 v 11.

You know, there are some wonderful titles given to the Lord Jesus throughout Scripture.

But here’s the point. When you get through this exercise of finding all those titles and placing them in their right order you will discover every title places the Lord Jesus in a different position.

And if you get the title, and you get the position, then you will not be far out with your understanding of prophetic scripture.

Let me unpack some of those titles for you very quickly!

For example the word Saviour! He was born Saviour!

"Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour"

He lived a Saviour! "Of this man’s seed (David) hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus" Acts.13 v 23.

Now not all of his titles can be followed through like that.

For example "The Good Shepherd." Why? Well because we must stop at Calvary. Because "The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." John 10 v 11.

"The Great Shepherd" you know don’t you that the title "The Great Shepherd" belongs to the resurrection.

"For the God of peace, who brought again from the dead The Great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant" Heb.13 v 20.

And when you come from the Good Shepherd and Calvary to the Great Shepherd and the resurrection you move to the Chief Shepherd, and of course that title belongs to His coming to the air.

"When the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away" 1 Peter 5 v 4.

And if you can find all His titles and find their place in Prophetic Scripture it will give you the simplest of stepping stones as a pathway to truth. And that truth will become even more precious to you and your theology will become doxology.

The reason I believe truth means little or nothing to so many today beloved, is because our theology has lost its doxology.

Psalm 119 v 54 "Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage." Statutes and Songs! We don’t often put those two together today! The Psalmist says, your Statutes, your Truths, your Word, your Doctrines have been my song as I walk through this waste, howling wilderness of a world.

Psalm 137. The reason the children of Israel were down in Babylon and in captivity were because they had lost their song!

You see there are titles that belong to His coming to the air and titles that belong to His coming to the earth and we must not confuse them.

And that is where I am coming from tonight!

Read with me in Luke Ch.1 v 30-33: Seven great Shall's!

But there are three more Shall’s in this passage.

5. "And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of His Father David." Not yet fulfilled!

You see David had a Throne, but one day Nebuchadnezzar came and removed the crown from Israel and God said, I will overturn, overturn, until he comes whose right it is and I will give it him.

And there has not been a grown head over Israel from that day until now.

But it was promised that the Lord God would give Jesus Christ the throne of His Father David. That is of course the earthly throne of Israel.

Don’t mix it up with the throne he occupies now!

For the throne Jesus Christ sits on just now was never occupied by David, and never will be occupied by any earthly king.

6. "And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever." Not yet fulfilled!

He was not reigning over them when they cried, away with Him, away with Him, we have no king but Caesar. They were despising and rejecting him!

"And of His Kingdom there shall be no end." Yet to be fulfilled!

Keep in mind, He is the King Eternal! He’s coming back to this earth to take the throne of His Father David, but not only that, He’s coming back as the King of Kings, for every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

And Jesus shall reign where'r the sun doeth it’s successive journey’s run!

And after all that I want to lift out some of His titles and perhaps that will allow us to see things as we should.

A. He Is Called the Stone! Dan.2 v 34-35.

That’s the Ferocity of the coming King!

The king had a dream; he could not remember what he had dreamed, so Daniel was brought in to help! Ch.2 v 31 is what Daniel told the king.

(Give background to and describe image!)

You see Jesus Christ is coming to earth as the stone to smash this revived Roman Empire which will come under the control of Satan's man, at least for a time.

Last time He came to earth they crushed a crown of thorns onto his lovely brow; they bowed the knee in mockery, but this time the tables are turned. He will do the crushing; He will smash in pieces the empire of the man of sin. He is coming in great fury and judgement. That’s His ferocity

B. He Is Called the Lord! Zech.14 v 1-5.

That’s the Deity of the King!

v 5 "And the Lord my God shall come and all his saints with him"

Notice it's all His saints coming with Him, and if He is coming with all His saints, it stands to reason He must have first come for them!

Notice also, it's "the Lord my God shall come" Zech.14 v 9.

"And the Lord shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one"

For those who cannot accept that Jesus Christ is Lord they should read this from Dr. John Phillips of the Exploring Series. John 1 v 1.

It’s the Lord my God shall come, revealing to us the Deity that belongs to the King.

Titus Ch.2 v 11-14. Listen! Listen!

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of The Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."

And all the time we live here we should be looking for that blessed hope! And what’s the blessed hope? The coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ. That’s to do with his coming to the air! Ah, but there's another statement in there.

"And the glorious appearing of The Great God and our Saviour."

That’s to do with His coming to the earth! There are two things that should keep us living as close to the Lord as is possible for a saved sinner to live, that is His coming to the air and His coming to the earth. Why?

1 Tim: 1 v 17.

Who’s The King Eternal? Jesus! Who’s Immortal? Jesus!
Who’s Invisible? Jesus! Who’s The Only Wise God? Jesus!

And it's He who is coming to the air, it's He who is coming to the earth and when He comes all men and women everywhere shall see Him in all His glorious glory and they shall know then as never before.

‘Tis the Lord, O wondrous story, 'Tis the Lord the King of Glory!

At his feet we humbly fall, crown him, crown Him Lord of all.

Read 2 Thess.1 v 3-10.

It’s the Lord who is coming, make no mistake about it!

C. He Is Called the Son of Man! Luke 17 v 26-30.

That’s the Humanity of the King!

"As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when The Son of Man is revealed"

That is the title He loved on earth and this old world is not going to be allowed to forget that it's this same Jesus that walked this earth, that was abused and misused while on this earth, and it's this same world, just as if they had been present at Calvary treated him so shamefully!

This world will be reminded that they disregarded Him like a piece of rubbish fit only for the dung heap. For that’s where they took Him, that's where they crucified Him, that’s where they left Him, outside the city wall, on the rubbish heap. Ah, but the shoe is on the other foot now. Yes, it’s the King who has come, but never forget, He was God manifest in flesh, and His coming will remind them, both the living and the dead as to who He really was.

D. He Is Called The Faithful And True! Rev.19 v 11.

That’s the Fidelity of the King!

"And I saw heaven open, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doeth judge and make war."

In Revelation chapter 4 we see a door open in heaven to let John in but here we see all heaven open to let Jesus out. It’s the moment when the saints, the hosts go marching out of heaven not, on this occasion marching in.

Rev.1 v 7.

Rev. 19 v 12.

In righteousness he doeth judge and all he will have to do when he looks at those peoples and nations is to look at them with those eyes that were as a flame of fire and their evil guilt will be revealed for all to see and none to question! This beloved is a judgement that will be as true as it is possible for any judgement to be.

Abraham said many years ago, when pleading for Sodom!

"And Abraham drew near, and said, wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: shall not the judge of all the earth do right"

Abraham boldly challenging God to be careful lest he get it wrong!

Listen folks when He comes as the faithful and true there will be no mistake; there is a fidelity about the King at His coming!

E. He Is Called the Word of God! Rev.19 v 13.

That’s the Eternality of the King!

"He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called the Word of God"

This is the name whereby his majesty will be manifested, for when he comes to earth again it will be with authority. Jesus Christ was always the Eternal Word John 1 v 1. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." A text quoted earlier.

But when that word became flesh John 1 v 14.

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the father) full of grace and truth"

When that Word became flesh His own people would not receive Him.

John 1 v 11 "He came unto his own and his own received him not."

And yet it was this very Word who spoke the worlds into being Psalm 33 v 6.

As the Eternal Word He was always the expression of God, but at His next appearing on earth He will exercise full authority in expressing the Father’s judicial attitude.

As words are a vehicle of expression to the mind and heart of some personality, so Christ, The Word of God, is the only perfect expression of God.

Spoken words are not merely a sound; they are wonderfully alive, and this is more true of the Divine Word. Heb.4 v 12.

"For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thought’s and intents of the heart"

Here Jesus Christ is both Warrior and Word!

F. He Is Called the King of Kings! Rev.19 v 14-16.

That’s the Majesty of the King!

"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 sharp 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 and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords."

Without doubt this is the majesty of the King! Coming with His armies and coming in final authority. Here we see the mighty captain leading his armies from heaven to earth. These are the soldier saints whom He took to heaven.

The plural "armies" suggests more than one company. It is quite possible they include the Old Testament saints, the church saints, the saints of the tribulation.

Their clothes indicate that they are all saved people! What an amazing, magnificent army this is! The lamb’s bride will be with him; but on this occasion she is not dressed for a wedding but for war, you see, here the redeemed are a militant force. Doubtless there will be a hosts of angels in that army because our Lord did tell his disciples that the holy angels would be with him when he returned in glory Matt.25 v 31.This mighty event was divinely revealed to Enoch, the seventh generation from Adam. Jude writes v 14-15.

"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying

Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgement upon all, and to convince that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him"

These armies are not mere symbols; they are real! Christ Jesus is the Lord of hosts, Jehovah-Sabaoth, and the armies of heaven are as real as Christ Himself.

And please note he is coming as conqueror! He is the conqueror!

He is the only one who engages in the conflict.

It is He who smites the nations. The armies merely view the battle and do no more. Most battles are fought by the armies while the general directs from a vantage point. But this general is unique, and listen, listen, He has never lost a battle yet. Praise His Name!

John notices his name as he goeth forth to war. King of King’s and Lord of Lord’s! The absolute sovereign and sole ruler of the earth He comes to claim His rightful place forevermore and of His kingdom there shall be no end!

Luke 19 v 12-27. As the nobleman who goes into a far country He now returns to establish His kingdom.

And at long last, "the government shall be upon his shoulder…of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his Kingdom, to order it, and establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this" Isa. 9 v 6-7. It’s the complete fulfilment of Psalm 2 & 24!

G. He Is Called the Sun of Righteousness! Mal. 4 v 2.

That’s the Ability of the King!

The righteous will be rescued in the coming day of judgement. This "day of the Lord," foretold by Joel and other prophets, is very clearly highlighted by Malachi: "Behold the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble" Mal.4 v1. Malachi saw that coming day in his vision, but he also saw the coming dawn, after warning of judgement, God said, "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall" Mal. 4 v 2.

And as Dr. John Phillips says:

Dear friend, please understand, the Lord is returning to this earth in great power and glory, He will make a mark on this planet the like of which this world has never thought of. 'Jesus shall reign where'er the sun, doeth his successive journey run; His kingdom spread from shore to shore, Till moons shall wax and wane no more.

And from that moment onward, what a wonderful world this will become.

Are you not glad you are part of the God plan for this planet?

Maybe you have been listening to this message this evening, or by tape in your own home at a later date, maybe you are reading this sermon on the net. You are not part of God's plan for this planet simply because you have never believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your own and personal Saviour. Then why not take that step just now and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved becoming part of God's eternal plan for this planet.