Mike Bickle emphasizes the significance of Jesus' second coming as a royal procession, detailing the dramatic events that will unfold as He returns to Jerusalem. He explains that this procession is not just a sudden appearance but a powerful entry marked by military conflict, where Jesus will come to defeat His enemies and establish His throne. Bickle highlights the prophetic descriptions from the Old Testament, particularly Isaiah and Zechariah, which illustrate the bloodshed and the ultimate victory of Christ. He encourages believers to understand the reality of these events and not dismiss them as mere symbolism, as they are foundational to the Christian faith. The sermon culminates in the anticipation of Jesus being recognized as the true Messiah by the people of Israel.

Thank you. Turn to page 167. Chapter 11. I just want to say one thing about the worship team before we begin this session. This is a night watch worship team. The last three or four years, they lead worship through the night, six nights a week. But the last five days, they've been leading throughout the day. Their body is kind of in shock. It would be like somebody asking you to lead worship all night for the next five nights. When your body's accustomed to a daytime schedule. I just honor them and their diligence to come and serve in the way they have the last five days. Lord, we ask you to release your blessing on the Word of God. We ask you for revelation and living understanding. On this very glorious subject. In Jesus' name, Amen. Today, we're talking about Jesus' royal procession when he returns to the earth. Jesus is a king. And when a king comes to his throne, there is a procession, a royal procession that precedes it. The Father has planned a very dramatic and elaborate royal procession for Jesus. Jesus is not suddenly going to appear on his throne in Jerusalem, but he's going to have a procession on the way to the throne. And the Bible is clear about some of the details of this royal procession. Though often this subject is usually neglected and ignored. It is the most glorious subject that I can think of. Jesus coming back to the earth to be received on a throne is king of the nation. It's the ultimate event in the prophetic teaching of the Bible. Paragraph B. What is surprising to some people is that Jesus is coming and his procession is in recontext to a military conflict. He will come to win the battle for Jerusalem. And to end the Armageddon conflict which has been going on for three and a half years. John describes Jesus' procession into Jerusalem in context to a military conflict. Revelation 19 is describing Jesus' triumphal entry back into Jerusalem. When he entered Jerusalem at the first triumphal entry, he came on a donkey. With 12 disciples following him. But when he comes his next triumphal entry into Jerusalem, he will be on a white horse. And he will come to make war in context to this entry into Jerusalem. And he will have blood on his garments. Now at the first time you read this, that's a very surprising detail about Jesus' entry back into Jerusalem. How do we know he's entering Jerusalem right now? Because the Old Testament prophets locate and identify the city of Jerusalem as the place of this great conflict. John doesn't mention Jerusalem, but the prophets in the Old Testament make it very clear that's the location of this conflict. His robe is dipped with blood. That's a very interesting phrase. Most scholars agree the vast majority of the scholars agree with this next point. That it's the blood of his enemies that is on him, not his shed blood on the cross. This is not the blood he shed on the cross to save us, but this is the blood that he gets on him because he's killing the enemies around Jerusalem. That is abundantly clear in Isaiah 63, verse 3, which we'll look at in just a moment. But when Jesus enters Jerusalem, he sits on his throne and he strikes the nations of the earth. Some people imagine when Jesus comes, he waves his hand and the earth is made perfect and the whole drama is over, but that's not what the Bible says. When he returns and enters Jerusalem, the drama comes to a whole other level as he destroys the nations, he dashes them to pieces, then reconstructs them. I know that many people don't think about that detail, but it's a detail that's mentioned several times in the Bible. Paragraph C, Isaiah 63 is one of my favorite descriptions of the second coming of Jesus. The prophet asks, who is this man who is coming from Edom? He's coming from Bozrah. He is traveling in the greatness of his strength. Now, ancient Edom is modern-day Jordan. And Bozrah was one of the major cities in Edom. So, Isaiah is seeing the Messiah marching up from Edom on his way to Jerusalem. Notice that he's traveling in great power with the glory of God being released as he goes. Then Isaiah asked him a question. Why are your garments red? It looks like you've been working in a wine press. Because in the ancient world, this was a very familiar picture. They would bring all the grapes and put them into a stone vat. Maybe the vat was three feet tall, sometimes more. And then the workers would step into the vat and they would stomp on the grapes in order to make the juice of the grapes flow. And when they stomped on the grapes, the grapes got all over their clothing. So, Isaiah says, it looks like you've been stomping in the wine press. Why? This passage is about the second coming of Jesus marching into Jerusalem. Then in verse 3, Jesus gives the answer that John in the book of Revelation references. Jesus says, I have trodden or I have trampled the wine press myself. And the blood of my enemies has splashed up upon my garments just like the grapes would splash upon the garment of one in the wine press. I have stained all of my robes with their blood. Now, when we think of the second coming of Jesus to Jerusalem, we don't think of him getting blood on his garments. This is a very new idea to some believers. But Jesus is making some very powerful statements by coming into Jerusalem this way. He is saying, I am personally going to be involved in the battle. It will be up, it will be up front and close and personal to me, this battle. I will be so involved and so close the blood will actually touch my person. And I want to tell the nations, I am not ashamed that I am shedding their blood. I will wear it on my garments as a trophy in the grace of God. Because many believers are embarrassed about the idea that Jesus will come and judge and kill people. But Jesus is not embarrassed by this point. He says, when I enter Jerusalem, the blood will be on me. I am declaring to the nations it was righteous what I did in killing the enemy. Verse 4, then Isaiah defines this day as related to the second coming of Jesus. This is not an event that has already happened in history. This is yet a future event. Earlier in the book of Isaiah, Isaiah already described this event one previous time. And then he added additional details to it in chapter 63. Let's look at Isaiah's first description of this great event when the Messiah comes back to Jerusalem. Verse 2 of Isaiah 34, it's the time when the judgment of God is against all the nations of the earth. It's when his judgment is against all the armies of all the nations of the earth. This is clearly a future event described in Revelation 19 at the battle of Jerusalem. Verse 6, the sword of the Lord will go forth and blood will flow everywhere. Now, I am paraphrasing it because you have the Bible verse right in front of you. But notice where the blood flow starts in the city of Basra, just outside of Jerusalem. Remember, Basra is one of the major cities in Edom, which is modern-day Jordan, just next to Jerusalem. This is where the blood flow begins, and then as he marches to Jerusalem the blood flow increases more and more until he delivers the city. So, the slaughter from Basra to Jerusalem will be a very great slaughter in that day. Revelation 19, verse 21 says all the kings and all the armies will be killed on that day. That is, I can't even imagine what this looks like. Revelation 14, verse 20 says that the blood will be flowing three or four feet deep throughout the land. Ezekiel 39, verse 12 says it will take them seven months to bury the dead bodies. This is after the second coming. So, Revelation 19, John takes these two passages and develops them more fully in Revelation 19. Now, I understand most people don't begin teaching on the second coming with those verses. Most people don't teach the second coming beginning with Isaiah, these passages in Isaiah. This is a new view of the second coming to many people. But actually, it's an old view because it's been in the Bible for a long time. And without some of these foundational concepts, we get a wrong view of what the second coming is about and what it looks like. Page 168, paragraph D, Jeremiah 317. Then Jesus enters Jerusalem and He sets up His throne in Jerusalem, or He sits on His throne in Jerusalem. Now, the city will be in a heap of ruins at this time. So, we don't know all the details how this happens, but Jesus' throne is established in the city right away. So, let's now back up and begin to look at the overview of what happens in this royal procession to the city of Jerusalem. Paragraph E. When you mention the second coming to some people, what they think of instantly is the rapture of the church. And to them, the ideas are the exact same thing. You might say, what's going to happen at the second coming? And they would say, oh, you mean when we're raptured? And the second coming and the rapture are closely associated events, but they're two different details in one great series of events. The rapture describes what happens to us when we're transformed. The second coming describes what Jesus does. He comes back to the earth in a permanent way. He is coming to the earth, not just to the sky to rapture us to go back. He's actually coming to the earth and to Jerusalem in a permanent way. By definition of a coming, He's coming to the earth is the meaning of the Bible in that term. He's not just coming to the sky and then going back. He's coming to the earth. Yes, it's at that time we are raptured, but they're not exactly the same detail. Those are different details of one great drama. Page 169. 1 Thessalonians 4, 16 and 17. The Lord Himself will descend from heaven. The dead in Christ will rise first and the rest of the body of Christ will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Again, I'm just paraphrasing it just to say it more quickly. You have the verse in front of you. But Paul describes three very dramatic events that are all connected together. When we read these, we need the Holy Spirit to give us insight as how real this really is. A Jewish man is descending from heaven in the sky to take over the earth. That is remarkable idea. Yes, He's fully God. But this is a man who used to live on the earth, who is alive again, coming in the sky to take over the world. This is a remarkable idea. Don't be so familiar with this idea that it does not move your heart. I read this and I pause and I go, Jesus, who are you? I love you. This is amazing. Then the next thing, all the believers that have died, I mean maybe a billion of them since Adam, they're all coming out of their graves. Now that is really strange. I mean, I don't know how many people it is, but it's hundreds of millions come out of their graves. There they are with new bodies like, oh my goodness. If you walked out in a graveyard and one man stepped out of his grave, you would die of fear. I mean, imagine you're walking through the graveyard and a guy goes, hello, how are you? Well, hundreds of millions are going to do this. What is this about? Then it gets even more intense. Hundreds of millions that are alive, they get caught up in the air and changed and mobilized in midair to come take over the earth. When I read this passage, it makes me worship, it makes my heart filled with awe. But this passage can so easily become familiar, it doesn't move us anymore. Page 170. When will the timing of the rapture be? Paul said, at the last trumpet, that's when we will be raptured. John the Apostle described, he numbers seven trumpets in the book of Revelation. And in Revelation chapter 11, 15, when the seventh trumpet sounds, it is the last trumpet of the numbered trumpets in the book of Revelation. When the last trumpet sounds, all 232 nations of the earth will change their government and their leadership and they will come under the leadership of Jesus. Now, we will see in our next session, when we look at an overview of the book of Revelation, that this event happens just before the seven bowls of wrath are released against the Antichrist as Jesus enters Jerusalem. But my point right now, is that the timing of these events is at the seventh trumpet. It's at the last trumpet. Roman numeral three. We've already established this principle in one of the earlier sessions. But just a very fast review. The great purpose of God in Ephesians 1, 10 is made clear. God's plan is to gather the earthly realm and the heavenly realm and bring them together in Jesus. This has always been the plan of God's heart, that He started in Eden was to have the two realms together on the earth with Jesus in the center of it. This has always been God's purpose. Page 171. Now, when Jesus returns, and He joins together heaven and earth on the earth, the earthly dimension, or the natural realm, is not automatically suspended. The earth realm will not be replaced by the heavenly realm, but rather they will be joined together. That's different than replacing them. The natural realm and the spirit realm will exist together on the earth. And what I mean by the spirit realm, I mean the supernatural realm of the manifest glory of God. So the natural dynamics of human process will continue, but with the supernatural enabling of the Holy Spirit. Why is this important to understand when we study the end times? Because when Jesus marches up from Basra or from Jordan to the city of Jerusalem, killing the enemies, Jesus has all the supernatural dimensions of the resurrection associated with Him. He has the angels, there's the saints, the glory of God is openly being revealed on the earth. But there's real kings and real armies that really get killed and their blood spills. That's the natural realm. It still continues. As I've taught this over the years, the confusion hits people right away. Because they haven't thought it through all the way. Oh, I don't believe anybody could think it through all the way because there's so many details we don't know. But they picture Jesus coming in the glory of the resurrection. That's right. Then I say, what happens next? I don't know. Maybe He waves His hand, all the bad people disappear, and all the cities are rebuilt. I don't know. I've never thought about it. I go, all these armies, hundreds of millions of soldiers, do they just vanish? Do they evaporate? What happens to them when the glory of Jesus appears? Because they can't picture the natural realm continuing, they think it's somehow suspended or it disappears. They haven't really thought about it in a real detailed way. But the Bible says Jesus actually kills these armies. Then Ezekiel 39, 12 says it takes seven months to bury them. They don't disappear, the corpses, they have to be buried in the ground. And then Jesus strikes the nations, or two times the Bible says He dashes the nations with a rod of iron. He dashes the nations with a rod of iron like striking a pottery. That seems really extreme. I have thought on those verses some over the years. Jesus, you're going to dash the nations like striking a rod of iron on a piece of pottery? This is a remarkable idea. My point is this. The natural realm will continue even though Jesus comes in resurrected glory. And if that becomes clear in your thinking, then all of these Bible verses on the end times, they begin to make sense when we see the two realms operating together. But without that one piece of information, we end up just making all these Bible verses spiritual or symbolic, or worse than that, we just ignore them. I've determined I'm not going to ignore any of these details and just write them off as symbolic, because they're a little hard to understand. Last night we looked at the verse Jeremiah 30, verse 24. It says, in the last days, the people of God, they will consider, they will ponder, they will study, they will wrestle with these ideas until they understand them. Because we have the confidence the Bible never contradicts the Bible, so all of these details will work out in a real, actual way. I don't understand them all, but as I study it over the years, it's becoming more and more clear. I still have much to learn. And I'm sure that some of my ideas are wrong, and I'm asking the Lord to teach me and correct me as the years unfold. That's one reason I invite people, challenge everything you hear me say, and make me prove it in the Bible. But if you challenge it, give me a Bible verse why you're challenging it. Don't throw it away or dismiss it because it's new to you. Only throw it away and dismiss it because you have a Bible verse that tells you that what I'm saying is wrong. Over the years, I have different ones who challenge some of these ideas. And often, what their frame of reference is, is their church background and what they're used to. That's really what they're reasoning from, not from the Bible. So I'm committed to make any changes anytime anybody can show me even one detail to change because they have a Bible verse. But I'm not willing to dismiss any fact just because it's new to people. If it's in the Bible, it's important, and I'm going to believe it. And I know you feel the same way. You would not even be here. I mean, you're an unusual people. You sit in meetings 12 hours every day and study. This is remarkable to me. Roman numeral 4. Remember, just review. There are three types of people on Earth in the time when Jesus appears in the sky at the Second Coming. The redeemed, they will all be raptured. The reprobate, they took the mark of the beast, they will be killed. And the resistors, the unsaved survivors of the Great Tribulation. Now, that group is new to some people in their thinking. They go, where's this group, the unsaved survivors? Where do you get that? Well, I have different Bible verses that indicate their presence. Page 172. The royal procession of the Great King coming back to the Earth and specifically to the city of Jerusalem. Why do I call it a royal procession? Paragraph A. Because He comes with all the saints, that's several billion people. And He comes with all the angels. He travels on the clouds in the sky. It says twice, every single eye of the Earth will see Him. He raises the dead in Christ. Raptures every believer that's alive. He comes in the Father's glory with flaming fire in the brightness of lightning with shouts, divine decrees and proclamations. The King is coming! Trumpets blasting. The sun, the moon and the stars are going on and off telling the Earth something big is happening. You put all that together? Now that's a royal procession, that's a grand entry to the Earth. Nobody will miss it. And just to make sure nobody misses it, the Father will pull the lever and turn the sun and the moon and the lights off and then when Jesus comes, He'll turn the lights back on. I'm sure it won't be exactly like that. But all the lights go off and then the grand moment and then all the lights go back on and the King with His procession is coming across the entire Earth. Paragraph B. Now this is a new idea to some as well. But if you study the details carefully, I believe that you will see that it is a biblical idea. This royal procession has three stages to it. First, He goes across the sky and every single eye of every single person will see Him. But that's only the beginning of the procession. And He marches up through the land of Jordan and Basra on the way to Jerusalem. The drama increases. Because He's not in the sky now, He's on the Earth and blood is flowing everywhere. Jesus is no longer operating in the air but He's coming down to the ground and is now entering the land. So as Jesus is fighting on the ground there will be bloodshed and the enemies will continue to be defeated. Then He's received into the city of Jerusalem as the Messianic King and He sits on His throne in Jerusalem. Now paragraph B. One of the new ideas, an idea that might be new to you is the idea that this three stage procession will take 30 days to happen. Because some people just assume it will happen in one second all the events are done. Every eye on the Earth has seen Him. He marches up through the land and goes to Jerusalem in one second it's all done. And He's going to take the land and He's going to enter the land but that's not what the Bible teaches. Yes, in the twinkling of an eye our body is transformed but that's not the same thing as saying the entire process is over in one second of Jesus entering Jerusalem. And when you compare the 1260 days that are established in the book of Daniel with the 1290 days that the angel told Daniel about there's a 30 day period that seems mysterious. The angel tells Daniel that the great conflict is 1260 days but he goes there's an additional 30 days beyond that where many things happen. It's in the Bible maybe it was not in your Sunday school curriculum but it is in the Bible. So my point is because it's new to some of you don't dismiss it because it is in the Bible. And that's our authority what's in the Bible not what our tradition tells us. On our website we have a couple articles on it describing the 1290 days and developing some proof as to what's happening at that time. Page 173 Paragraph D This is very important that when Jesus came in his resurrected body he opened up the Bible and he said he taught the disciples about himself from the scriptures. But he didn't the Bible doesn't only talk about Jesus at his first coming the Bible has much much more to say about Jesus at his second coming. And when Jesus comes he will come as the greater Moses. I mean Moses was only a prophetic picture of the great end time drama of Jesus as the greater Moses. The greater Moses, Jesus will deliver the Israelites from the captivity of the end time Pharaoh which is the Antichrist. But Jesus will also be the greater Joshua he will take the land back from the enemy. But Jesus will also be the greater David he will recapture the city of Jerusalem build the temple and establish worship and control the whole world from Jerusalem. The story line of Jesus coming back to the earth has already been told in part through the Old Testament story. Roman numeral 6 stage 1 of the royal procession Jesus will come across the sky paragraph B look at the details very carefully. Every eye will see him Now many people skip that point right there. All the tribes of the earth not just the nations but actually every individual and every individual in them will see him. And when they see him they will mourn they will have a deep emotional response. Page 174 Page 174 When I teach this verse almost every time somebody brings up this point which is not a very good point. So I encourage you to just throw this point away before you even bring it up in your mind. They say I say how will every single eye see Jesus? They say by technology on TV. I said throw that idea completely away. Jesus was the one who created in Genesis 1 he doesn't need technology for everyone to see him. And the spiritual climate of the earth will be very different in that day than it is now. There will be so many false signs and wonders that the unbelievers would never believe a miracle by watching it on TV. These are people who are against Jesus and they mourn because they suddenly believe he's real and the Antichrist is the false one. For them to mourn means they've changed their position where they now believe the Antichrist is false and Jesus is real. That's why they're mourning. They're terrified. It becomes very clear they're on the wrong side. And the Antichrist has done so many miracles to convince these unbelievers that the Antichrist is false that Jesus is real they would need more than to see him on television. No. Every eye will see him with their own eye in person. And they will see him clear enough to where it becomes they conclude they're in great danger because they chose the wrong side. And because Jesus is so close to them they will realize they chose the wrong side. Now think about this for a minute. Because the earth is round everybody cannot see him at the same second. The people in Korea and the people in Kansas City cannot see him at the very same second because he's coming as a physical man in the sky. The only way we can all see him at the same moment is if the earth became flat we all looked at him quick and then the earth became round right afterwards. And I'm sure that's not going to happen. He is going to travel over every geographic area of the earth and the trumpets are blasting it's his royal procession because he's about to take over the leadership of the earth. He doesn't just go around the earth once around the equator because if a man travels in the sky over the equator only the people north and south can't see him. Jesus doesn't become a thousand feet tall for a few moments he's still the same size. So he needs to be seen in every longitude in every latitude of every island of the earth that's inhabited. Because the people will see him clear enough to conclude they've been deceived by the antichrist and they will mourn as they change their position about Jesus. Page 175. Paragraph E. This is only a question I don't have the answer at all but I just want you to think about this. Paragraph E is only a question I'm going to ask you I don't have the answer to this question. At what height and at what speed will Jesus be traveling for every human to see him and to connect with the truth about who he is. Because I don't think he's going to go shoo in the corner of the eye I think that was Jesus I think I better repent I don't think that's going to happen. Like these deeply devoted worshipers of the antichrist that saw his miracles they are not going to change because they see a flash in the side of their eye. Because remember they're going to see him even clear enough where they mourn and they change their position radically suddenly. So how close to the earth does this man have to come for people to see him? I mean you know just estimate he's 6 feet tall Although I really think he's 5'8". Not really, that was a joke. But the size of a man how close will he be to the earth and how fast will he be traveling for people to actually see him with their eye, not by technology. Not one trip around the earth because he has to be seen in the north, the south, the east, the west the islands, the pacific, everywhere he has to be seen. So the trumpet is blasting and the decrees are going forth here is your king and he is the royal possession over his new territory, the whole earth is his now. I mean it's already his but he's going to take possession of it before all the nations of the earth. So how long will it take him to cross the sky? I don't have any idea. But it will take more than one minute that I assure you. It may take several hours several days, I don't have any idea but it will take time and it will be a natural event that will be seen by everybody. Meaning it won't be just a vision they all have they will actually see him with their eyes in person. Roman numeral 7 Stage 2 So now he touches down on the earth after he's gone across the sky everyone who saw him now he touches down on the earth. People say I think he touches down at the Mount of Olives no he ends up at the Mount of Olives that is true. But he touches down and I don't know where but he marches up through Jordan on his way to Jerusalem that's clear from the prophets. Page 177 Now he's marched through the land and he's killing the Gentile armies on his way to Jerusalem. Now he's about to make his second triumphal entry into Jerusalem and this is his last entry into Jerusalem he stays there forever. Paragraph A This is the high point of human history the triumphal entry of Jesus to take Jerusalem and to sit on his throne. But to understand the drama you have to go back to the book of Zechariah. Paragraph B Describing the second coming and the entry into Jerusalem. Verse 2 For the Lord will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem. Verse 3 Then Jesus goes forth and he fights against those nations. Verse 4 It's in that day now he's entered Jerusalem then he stands on the Mount of Olives. But a very surprising event happens when his feet touch the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives splits in two. Isn't that an odd idea to put into, I mean that's a surprising idea for God to put into the plan. Why does the Mount of Olives split in two? That's unusual. Verse 5 Tells us why. It's part of Jesus' military plan it's part of the battle for the Mount to split. Zechariah is speaking to the Jews in the final generation. He says, then you shall flee through my mountain valley. Zechariah is speaking for the Lord to the end time Israel. The Lord is saying you will then flee through the valley when I come and split it. Then the Lord anticipates them being a little confused. And the end time Israel says flee through the valley. Why would we flee? That sounds strange. Aren't you here? And the Lord says yes, you will flee. You heard me right because they will be in captivity backed up against the mountain with the armies of the Antichrist about to destroy them. And in the way that Moses and the children of Israel were backed up against the Red Sea and it split, in time Israel will be backed up against the mountain and it will split. And so Israel splits, I mean they flee and escape through the mountain valley. Well, where did Jesus go? Isn't He there? Why are they fleeing? Everything is over, isn't it? Paragraph C There is a war going on in Jerusalem. Paragraph D Jesus is killing all the enemies and He tells the Israelites we'll meet up in just a minute. You're going to be fine. Everything is in my plan. Page 179 I think this is the most interesting thing that the Israelites they flee through the mountain like they went through the Red Sea with Moses and they're wondering what is going on? What just happened? But all of this drama leads to paragraph F. Jesus' prophecy that He will not enter the city until they say to Him Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. And so after He has rescued them through splitting the mountain like the Red Sea and after He has killed the enemy that is trying to exterminate Israel and He has blood on His garments to prove that He was deeply involved up close and personal and the leaders of Israel will say Jesus of Nazareth you are the Messiah enter the city you are our King. And so the leaders of Israel will say Jesus of Nazareth you are our true Messiah. And Jesus will say I told you, you would say this with your own mouth one day. Because when He told them 2000 years ago I won't come back till you ask me they said we will never ask you and Jesus said oh yes you will. When I split the mountain like Moses split the Red Sea when I destroy the armies of the Antichrist like the armies of Pharaoh were destroyed you will understand that I am the greater Moses far greater than him. When I retake the land of Israel you will know I am the greater Joshua. When I recapture Jerusalem you will know I am the greater David. Then paragraph G the great Hosanna Coronation parade begins. They cried lift up your gates oh Jerusalem lift up your everlasting doors the King of Glory Jesus of Nazareth is coming in the nations will say who is the King? He is the Lord mighty in battle He has defeated the armies of the Antichrist He is our King Amen and Amen Let's stand Lord we thank you Jesus We thank you Jesus We love you Jesus Amen