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The Second Coming of Christ
Paris Reidhead

Paris Reidhead (1919 - 1992). American missionary, pastor, and author born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Raised in a Christian home, he graduated from the University of Minnesota and studied at World Gospel Mission’s Bible Institute. In 1945, he and his wife, Marjorie, served as missionaries in Sudan with the Sudan Interior Mission, working among the Dinka people for five years, facing tribal conflicts and malaria. Returning to the U.S., he pastored in New York and led the Christian and Missionary Alliance’s Gospel Tabernacle in Manhattan from 1958 to 1966. Reidhead founded Bethany Fellowship in Minneapolis, a missionary training center, and authored books like Getting Evangelicals Saved. His 1960 sermon Ten Shekels and a Shirt, a critique of pragmatic Christianity, remains widely circulated, with millions of downloads. Known for his call to radical discipleship, he spoke at conferences across North America and Europe. Married to Marjorie since 1943, they had five children. His teachings, preserved online, emphasize God-centered faith over humanism, influencing evangelical thought globally.
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Sermon Summary
In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the future judgment by our Lord Jesus Christ. He refers to John 5:17-31, where Jesus speaks about the resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. The preacher highlights that Jesus will be the judge, and his judgment will be inescapable. He also mentions Paul's charge to Timothy to preach the word, reminding him that Jesus will judge the living and the dead at his appearing. The preacher then turns to Revelation 20:11-15, where a vision of the great white throne judgment is described, with the books being opened and people being judged according to their works. The sermon emphasizes the certainty and seriousness of this future judgment.
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Sermon Transcription
Will you turn, please, to Revelation, the first chapter, Revelation chapter 1. Someone has said that if you will accept the evidence of the Bible, the best proven fact in history is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. If you will accept the testimony of the Bible, the most certain fact in the future is the second coming of Jesus Christ. There are three scriptures, we are told, I haven't counted them. There are three scriptures that testify to the second coming of Christ for every one that tells us of the first coming of Christ. It would thus make it three times as certain. Now the great subject of the book of Revelation is to predict the trials and the deliverances of God's church up to the end time. To a superficial observer, it may seem strange that God would let the enemy triumph as long and to such an awful degree as it seems that he has. However, the time is coming when all that's wrong will be righted and all who suffer will be rewarded and all who have afflicted the saints will receive just retribution. It is to this period of the coming of Christ in judgment that the verse that we shall consider tonight is directed. He wants us to know that we will suffer persecution. He wants you to know that. He has said they that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. And he wants you to know that the persecutors shall receive the just recompense of reward. He wants you to know that he will not spare you from suffering. We hear a great deal today about tribulation. You hear some people ask, well, you believe in the pre-tribulation rapture, the mid-tribulation rapture, and so on, dividing and splitting further and further. And it doesn't trouble me greatly because it all depends upon the source of the tribulation. There's nothing in the scripture that I can see that indicates that the church, his body, the church, will experience the wrath of God that will be poured out on wicked men. So if your definition of tribulation is the God's wrath poured out upon wicked men, then I can assure you that as far as I know the church will not go through that tribulation. But if the tribulation is the wrath of men poured out upon God and his people, there is nothing in the scripture to indicate that you will escape it. If you were to go to China tonight and find that hounded, hurt, hunted, persecuted church behind the bamboo curtain and say to them, what about the persecution, what would their answer be? I'm sure they'd say, well, if this isn't it, what will the great tribulation be? To them, of course, we know it's the wrath of men poured out on the people of God. And there is absolutely no reason whatever to think that we shall ever be immune to that. Now I want you to see the text. As I've said, it's the seventh verse of the first chapter. Behold, he, Christ, cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. This is the text, but let's see it in the context. I begin with verse 4. John, to the seven churches which are at Asia, grace be unto you and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him, even so. Amen. Let us notice verse, Behold, he cometh with clouds. I think if you were to turn to Thessalonians, you would find some little insight to the clouds that are here referred to. Let me read to you from 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. It's that word of comfort at the graveside, but it has its application here. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, and I begin verse 13, 1 Thessalonians 4, 13. I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain under the coming of the Lord, shall not precede them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. Ah, with them in the clouds. Perhaps the clouds that he refers to here will be the redeemed of ages past, those that have died in him that he brings with him at his coming. But behold, he cometh with clouds, and I am suggesting to you that the clouds refer to that company of people, the innumerable company of the blood-washed that he will bring at his coming. But I want you to see now this first phrase. Behold, he cometh. It is this that John was emphasizing to those that should read, that Jesus Christ would certainly come again. The angel said it on the day he left. This same Jesus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go. He will come again. And he is coming to judge the world. Behold, he cometh to judge. This is the first truth that I wish you to see. The future judgment by our Lord Jesus Christ awaits for his coming. Would you turn to John, the fifth chapter. I have an extended portion here that I wish to read. I think that its relevance and pertinence is such that I ought to read it completely. I begin with the seventeenth verse and shall conclude with the thirty-first verse. The scripture is more important than anything I shall say about it, and I want it to have its full effect in your heart. So hear it now. Listen carefully. You are involved. This is the description of the occasion when you shall meet him. But Jesus answered them, My father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the Moor to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his father, making himself equal with God. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do. For what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth. And he will show him greater works than these that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily I say unto you, He that heareth my words, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. I say unto you, the hour is coming as now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man. Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice, and shall come forth they that have done good under the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil under the resurrection of damnation. I can of mine own self do nothing, as I hear I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. This is the divine revelation from our Lord Jesus, concerning the certain fact that he will be the judge, and that his judgment will be inescapable. Thus it is that people think they can avoid the Son, but cannot. Will you turn to Acts chapter 17, verses 30 and 31. The same testimony of the Lord Jesus is reaffirmed by the Apostle Paul, namely that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming to judge the unsaved, to judge the wicked. Verse 30, I say, Acts 17. And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now God understood, commandeth all men everywhere to repent, because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead. And the justice certainly as God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, that certainly will the Lord Jesus Christ at his coming judge all men. Now 2 Timothy, the fourth chapter and the first verse, emphasizes this same truth. Paul repeats it to the young man concerning his ministry. Notice it. I charge thee, therefore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word. And further with this instruction, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. Now the time for his coming, the day that God has appointed, is not known by men. And this is what has brought prophecy into disrepute. Men have sought to establish the day of his coming. No man knows the time nor the season. No man knows the day nor the hour. These are hidden in the heart of God. Angels do not know. Men do not know. And any preacher that proposes to tell you when is usurping an authority that he does not possess and that has not been entrusted to him. Let it be certain that no man knows. No angel knows. The day is hidden in the heart of God and the instant that God has appointed, the Lord Jesus Christ shall come. We know something about the world at that time. For our Lord described it. He said it will be as it was in the days of Noah. Men will be eating and drinking, marrying, giving in marriage, buying and selling. In other words, everything will be going on as normal. There's nothing wrong with eating and drinking. Nothing wrong with marrying or buying or selling. These are all legitimate practices. But you see the thing that's wrong about this is that they are preoccupied with this and not with God. And God is not in all their thoughts. We find Peter referring to this day. He is saying that men are going to say, where is the sign of his coming? All things continue as they were from the fathers. Well, we've heard this coming of Christ business. It's been going on and on and on. It's old hat. It's old story. Doesn't mean anything to us. I know that's exactly what Peter said. Occasionally I hear someone that talks like that. And when I do, I simply remember that Peter said, they will say, where is the sign of his coming? But it is such a time. It's such a time when men are engaged with the normal pursuits and occupation. When they said, well, he tarries till the morning that the Lord will come. No man knows the time, but we do know have a reason to believe that when these things come to pass, lift up your head for your redemption, draw nigh. And we are nearer to his coming tonight than any other generation in the past has been. There is more prophecy that is fulfilled. The pattern is nearer to its full completion. There is less that needs to be dealt with than at any other previous time. Our Lord, I firmly could believe with all my heart, I believe that before I finish preaching or before the next sentence is completely uttered, our Lord Jesus could come just as was promised. I see nothing that needs to be fulfilled. One might say, well, what about preaching the gospel to the ends of the earth? The only thing I know is we do not know what has been done, how much has been done. I dwelt on this some weeks ago and shan't take time to develop it now. But I remind you that we, our statistics are grossly inadequate. And it could be that while missionary boards are debating about tribes that they should enter, that the Spirit of God is taking some humble national Christian, leading him down some jungle path, bringing him into that last village, that last hut, to that last heart that says, yes, did Jesus Christ. And that number known in the mind of God is complete, the body is complete, and he says, now, son, and he shall come again, even as he went away. And I believe it could happen now. You say, well, I don't. All right, let's be friends nonetheless. But this is exactly where I stand and shall continue to stand. I am looking for him to return. But I know this, that whether you're right or I'm right, if there's a difference between us, you feel that something remains to be done, and I feel that he could come before the morning breaks. Let's remember this, that when he comes, every eye shall see him. Every eye shall see him. You know, someone was saying it was going to be very quiet. Well, I was just reading from Thessalonians. You know, it doesn't sound very quiet to me. It sounds like it was sort of an exciting time. Let me read it to you again. For the Lord himself shall descend with heaven with a shout. I've never heard a quiet shout in my life. And with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God, then the dead in Christ shall re-rise first. It's going to be a bit of excitement when he comes. Folks are going to know about it. And then he says, and every eye shall see him. Someone says, that's going to be hard to do whenever people live on a globe such as ours. Well, I'll leave that up to the Lord. He can take care of it. It's spinning pretty fast now. He may take care of speed it up a little, but it's up to him. He said, every eye shall see him. And as far as I'm concerned, I'm delighted if he leave it that way. And I don't know how fast he'll travel, but as far as I'm concerned, it presents no problems. Ever since they told me that they could send a telegraph message from New York to San Francisco in a fraction of a second, I decided the Lord wouldn't have any problem in arranging for every eye to see him as quickly as he wished. Every eye shall see him. Now, what does this imply? This means that all who have ever lived shall be raised. All who died in all the ages past. I am a literalist when it comes to this scripture. I believe that every eye shall see him, that there will be then that day by the sovereign sight of God and that spoken word, that restoration. I was in Dr. Salama's country in Egypt and went to the old tombs at Saqqara. And I remember there that they just, the excavators had just opened up a section in the old tombs. And as I walked along with others, Miss Reed was with me, a group of us that were missionaries, we saw skulls come rolling out down the sand. There were bones for a group of slaves that had worked on the tombs centuries ago, had been killed and their bodies had been placed there in this crypt. And they hadn't had time. Apparently there was a tremendous number. And so as we walked by, we just pushed the skulls aside with our feet or our hands. And you know, as I walked by and left my footprints in the sand and thought of these, they were men. They had all the hopes and fears and yearnings and longings, all the dreads and all the aspirations that I had. And there this little brown skull, over four or five thousand years old, represented a human being that had walked in that same sand and left his footprints there. And my Lord said one day every eye should see him. I didn't particularly think that that skull would be used again, but the person that had inhabited it would be there to look on the Son of God and to see him. All who are alive at the time will see him. For he has said that the dead, small and great, will behold him. Every eye shall look on him. Now they will be involved in this, not as a spectator. The people that come will not be there just to witness some splendid event. The Scripture doesn't teach that. But it teaches that they will be there as participants, as criminals, arraigned before the bar of justice, whose case is to be tried. And the records will be opened. The record of their sin will be presented. Now, if you want to get insight into what will take place, would you turn to Revelation chapter 20 and allow me to read verses 11 to 15? For God in his great love and tenderness has given to us a picture of that day, and he's given us insight into the response of those that will be there. Now I read, beginning with the 11th verse. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them. And they were judged, every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. This is the divine preview of the great white throne. Now I would like to have you see the effect of this judgment upon the lost as we have it in our text. Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him. And they also which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. This text is more especially directed to the ungodly. You'll see this in the words, they, those who pierced our Lord in the days of his flesh. I'm sure that the Sanhedrin, having said crucify him, and having arranged for his condemnation and his execution, felt that they were through with him. I'm certain they did. This is the best way to get rid of him. This is the way to handle a difficult problem. Crucify him, and we won't bother with it. But of course we know that our Lord returned again to trouble them. You know that he was raised from the dead, and the church was raised as the testimony to the fact that he had conquered death. The Sanhedrin will be there. I'm sure they didn't see him. Personally I believe our Lord revealed himself after his resurrection only to the redeemed, only to the believers. I do not think that in those days after his resurrection, the forty days, that the Lord showed himself to the unsaved. Now I may be wrong, but I do not think so. And they're going to see him. They said he hadn't been raised from the dead. They said this was a lie. This was a concocted story. They paid the soldiers to testify that someone stole away his body. They'll be there to look on him whom they had pierced. Pilate will be there. And the soldiers that he sent the Sanhedrin in his band, they'll be there to look on the one whom they pierced. And Pilate will discover that washing his hands in a basin of water didn't absolve him from the responsibility of dealing with Jesus Christ. Herod will be there. Herod will be there as well. This one that represented the power of Caesar and by whose authority Pilate would send the soldiers, he'll be there to give his account to the one against whom he stood. And all the wicked of all the ages, all the Caesars of Rome that instigated persecution against the church, they'll be there. And down across the centuries, those that have hated the name of Jesus Christ will be there. And I would say also that those who live today that have heard the gospel and have spurned it, they will be there. All of these will recognize in his glorious person the man they hated and the man they treated with such indescribable cruelty. However, this, no longer will these people that see him be in a position to oppress him. They've had their day. They've done all they can do. They're finished. And no longer will he be in a position to take their assaults. For he's exalted. As a lamb, he humbled himself, brought before the shears, brought to the slaughter silent. But now he's the lamb on the throne. No longer will they be able to oppress and no longer will he be in a place to suffer. No longer will he allow the malefactors to touch him because he is the judge. And then I wanted to tell you something else. Not all the piercing of Christ was done in the first century. There are people that are piercing him today. There are those, and I say this with great relief, Mr. Negress has seen a gentleman. He had information come to our office concerning the relative of a Christian in one of our hospitals. And the other day, Mr. Negress went to see him and wanted to read the Scripture. He said, no, I don't want the Scripture. Asked to pray. He said, no, I don't want to pray. We had a call from this man's brother asking us to minister to him. He spurned it. He rejected it. And the day after this visit, the man went out into a dark, hopeless, Christless eternity. The last word he said was, I don't want prayer or Bible reading. I just want rest. But there's no rest to the wicked. And one day this man who died, spurning the intrigues of grace, will look on him whom he pierced by his rejection of the Son of God. Infinitely greater light was that man than Pilate. For he has the accumulated testimony of all centuries. And if you're here tonight, and you've not been born of God, and you've not been washed in the blood, every occasion that you pass, every day that you allow to pass without surrendering to Jesus Christ, is but a deeper piercing of the Son of God. And should you perish in your sins, be sure of this, you will look on him whom by your rejection you have pierced. Those who reject the truth, or those who haven't consented to the truth, depart from it. How much greater will their sin be than the sin of these that have died even with the blood of the Son of God on the spear they held in their hand. For he said, Father, forgive me. They know not what to do. For these that have had the accumulated testimony of the centuries have known what they do. What is the picture of these that shall look on him whom they pierce? Would you turn to Revelation chapter 6, verses 15 to 17? I would not know just what words to describe it, but allow me to say that it's one of the most startling, most dramatic, and the most moving portions of the entire word of God. Is this that I'm about to read to you? I begin with verse 12, And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake. And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as fig trees casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it rolled together, and every island, mountain, and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every born man, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. He said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? Calling to the rocks and the mountains to shield them from the wrath of the Lamb. A Lamb, neat, quiet, docile. But when that Lamb becomes enraged at men for their rebellion, the wrath of the Lamb is great that men call to be hidden from his face. This transpires at the coming of Christ. But notice what it says, All kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. All people, everywhere. And then John adds these words in verse 7, Even so, Amen. Even so, so be it. John confirms the truth as being the revelation he received. He also consents that it is right that those who pierced him will wail, and those who reject him must feel the weight of his wrath. And for God to do less than to produce this effect in them would be to be unfair to his Son. I think the Apostle Paul puts the matter beyond all doubt when he says, If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. Let him be anathema. But the preparation for this judgment is made clear. First, to the unsaved, it would come before the great white pole. You say, like the man who died this past week, I am determined to be lost. I have no part in Christ and no interest in his death and no desire ever to repent. I will abandon all hope in Christ and have no interest whatever in salvation through him. What must I do to make certain that I appear before the great white throne in the judgment that is thus described? I will embrace it. My friend, you don't need to do anything. Just go on and live day by day the way you're living. You say, I'm not such a bad sort. Surely when God gets there, gets me there, he'll put my good deeds and my bad deeds in the scale, and if my good deeds outweigh my bad deeds, then perhaps I'll come to something like that, but I'm not so bad. There's no scale any longer. You've already been weighed. You've been weighed in the balance and found wanting. The judgment is already passed. It isn't something that's going to happen. You say, well, I'm all right. I'm in neutral territory while I'm alive. It doesn't, there's no danger until I come to death. Oh, no, no, that's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible says he that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son shall not see life. It isn't that someday you will be lost, if you're sitting here tonight, without having repented of your sin and thrown yourself at the feet of Jesus Christ and received him as your all-sufficient Savior. You don't need to lie once more, sin once more, reject Christ once more. You're lost now, just as lost as you'll ever be, and should life leave your body, you'd be forever lost. This we must understand, this we must sing. What must you do to be saved? Oh, first, there is another manner in which you can look on him whom you've pierced. You can realize that it was for you he died. You can realize that it was your sin that sent him to the cross, that he died in your place and in your stead. He was there as your representative, as your substitute. He was under the sentence of your death. Oh, that tonight you will understand that Jesus Christ loved you and washed you from your own sins in his own blood. If this truth can lay hold upon you, that he loved you, the Lamb died, the Lamb shed his blood, the Lamb poured out his life to redeem you. He didn't come to judge the world. But your world is already under the sentence of death. He will come again to judge the world, but he didn't come the first time to judge it. He came to save the world, not to judge it. He was under the sentence of death. My friends, people tell me, and oh, how erroneous I view it, that the sin that sends a man to hell is the rejection of Christ the Savior. I can't believe it. I don't believe it. If Christ had never come, the world would have perished. He didn't come into the world to condemn the world. He came to save the world. Men don't go to hell because they reject Christ. They go to hell because they're sinners, because they're rebels, because they're monsters of iniquity. And rejecting Christ is just the proof of their insanity. They've exchanged everything, except the possibility that they exchanged. The reason people are lost is because they're sinners. And the reason people are saved is because they see the sin that they gave to be lost and come to Jesus Christ and see a fountain of cleansing and a fountain of His blood and sinners plunged beneath that flood, these poor, death-guilty souls. And you have one or two alternatives. Acknowledge your crimes, acknowledge your sins, throw yourself at the nail-pierced feet of the Son of God, know the cleansing of His blood, and know the washing away the stains that destroy and live, that do nothing but die. God has ordained that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. He only tells you to get up when it's the when. If you do it tonight, do it now. Come to Christ, now before Him, then before Him. Acknowledge your sins, acknowledge the justice of His judgment, be forgiven, be cleansed. What's the invitation that He gives? Listen to it so sweetly. And the Spirit and the bride say, say, come, come, come to the Savior. Make no delay. And let Him adhere. Say, come. And let Him that is at first, come. And He who ever will, let Him come and take of the water's life freely. Fourfold invitation. The Spirit, the Holy Spirit, God, is come. The bride, the church, is come. The one that hears, even though he doesn't himself come, just come. The one that is at first is invited to come. And He who ever will, let Him come and take of the water of life freely. You must meet Christ. He's coming again. You're going to see Him. You're going to stand before the great white throne and have your books opened and found your works condemned you and your name not written in the book of life. For you're going to come, repent, believe, be saved, and have your name written in His life. Lord, I cannot for riches, neither silver nor gold. I would make sure of heaven. I would enter the fold. In the book of Thy kingdom, with its pages so fair, tell me, Jesus, my Savior, is my name written there. He's coming, you know. Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him, and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him, even so. Amen. This is God's Word, the second coming of Christ, as He comes for judgment of the wicked dead. There's only one wise course. First, you'll hear on faith, come now. In just a moment, our brother Vynum is going to lead us in singing three stanzas of just as I am. Without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me and that Thou bidst me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come. You either come to the Lamb and live, or you come to the Lamb who in wrath shall judge you and die, but you must meet the Lamb. Meet Him now and live. Meet Him then and perish, but you will meet the Lamb. Behold, He cometh. Will you not come now? While the Spirit and the bride say come, while Him that heareth says come, let Him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let Him come, and take the water of life freely. Let us bow and pray. Father of our Lord Jesus, the inevitable meeting with our inescapable Son is as certain as that Thou art God, for Thou hast said this saying, Jesus shall so come. Thou hast appointed a day in which Thou wilt judge the world by that man whom Thou hast appointed, in that Thou hast given certainty by raising him from the dead. Father, we who name the name of Christ, how our hearts ought to grieve and yearn and break when we realize we have unsaved loved ones and neighbors and friends whose blood may be upon our hand because we failed to warn them to flee from the wrath to come, who in that day may look at us and say, no man, this man did not care for my soul. But tonight, our God, our hearts go out to Thee for those among us to whom Thou hast been speaking, who said, someday I'm going to come to Christ, but haven't come, they're no nearer now than they were years ago when they first said it. May this be the night when they come. I wonder if all our heads are bowed and eyes are closed, that there are those who by upraised hands would say, pray for me. God has been speaking to my heart. I know I need Christ, and tonight I do want to come. I'm finding it hard. I want prayer. Pray for me. Would you put your hand up? Anyone, anywhere I see it, God bless you. Yes, yes. Another, anywhere. Yes, I see it, God bless you. Another, still another. Anyone, just as I am, without one plea. But that Thou sheds Thy blood for me, O Lamb of God, I come to Thee. I come, I come. One more. Father, these hands are raised. Thou knowest the hearts they represent. O, might this be the night of coming, the night of turning to Thee, the night of committing their whole lives, body, soul, and spirit to the sovereignty of Thy Son, knowing the cleansing of His blood, forgiveness and pardon through faith in Him. So guide us in these last closing moments and make it easy for these to obey Thee and trust Thee, to take their stand wholly and completely for Thee. Make this the night of decision, the night when they are put themselves wholly on the side of the Lord. In Jesus' name and for His sake we pray. Amen. 107, the first three stanzas. We'll stand together as we sing and as we sing. You that have raised your hands, if you will, we invite you earnestly, sincerely to come. Others to whom God may have spoken, we invite you to come and stand here. And after a moment we will go with you into Wilson Chapel for a time of prayer alone. But if you'll come while we sing, and as others come I'm going to ask that some of you that know and love the Lord come and stand with them. Shall we stand? 107. Just the three stanzas. Step right out and mind the Lord as we sing.
The Second Coming of Christ
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Paris Reidhead (1919 - 1992). American missionary, pastor, and author born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Raised in a Christian home, he graduated from the University of Minnesota and studied at World Gospel Mission’s Bible Institute. In 1945, he and his wife, Marjorie, served as missionaries in Sudan with the Sudan Interior Mission, working among the Dinka people for five years, facing tribal conflicts and malaria. Returning to the U.S., he pastored in New York and led the Christian and Missionary Alliance’s Gospel Tabernacle in Manhattan from 1958 to 1966. Reidhead founded Bethany Fellowship in Minneapolis, a missionary training center, and authored books like Getting Evangelicals Saved. His 1960 sermon Ten Shekels and a Shirt, a critique of pragmatic Christianity, remains widely circulated, with millions of downloads. Known for his call to radical discipleship, he spoke at conferences across North America and Europe. Married to Marjorie since 1943, they had five children. His teachings, preserved online, emphasize God-centered faith over humanism, influencing evangelical thought globally.