1 Thess. 4:15-1715For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then 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. (1 Thessalonians 4:15‑17), Rev. 20:11-1511And 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. 12And 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. 13And 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. 14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11‑15)
You know that Jesus will come again in the clouds? Children, do you know when He will come? Shall I tell you when Jesus will come?
You would like to know, but I cannot tell you when He will come because I do not know. The angels do not know what day it will be. No one knows but God. There will be many wicked people in the world then, and some good people. An angel will blow a great trumpet, and Jesus will say to the people who are dead, ‘Come out of your graves!’
The bodies of all the dead people will come out of their graves. Those who love Christ will be like the angels and will fly up into the air. Those who love God and are alive when Jesus comes, He will take up into the air to meet Him. As soon as they see Jesus, they will be like Him, all shining and glorious.
Jesus will sit upon a white throne, and everybody will stand round His throne. He will open some books, in which He has written down all the things that everybody has done. God has seen all the bad things you have done. He can see in the dark as well as in the light, and He knows all your sinful thoughts.
He will read out of His books all the bad things that those people have done who do not love God, and the angels too will be standing round the throne to hear. Yet God will forgive many people because Christ died on the cross.
Who will He forgive?
He will forgive those who love Jesus with all their hearts. He has written down their names in another book, called ‘The Book of Life.’ He forgives their sins, He will wipe away their tears and He will let them live with Him forever.
Do you hope that Jesus has written down your name in His book?
So you must ask Him to give you His Holy Spirit. Then you will love Jesus, and you will hate to do what is wrong.
But what will God do to those who do not love Him? God will bind them in chains, and put them in a lake of fire. There they will gnash their teeth and weep and wail forever.
God will put Satan in the same place, and all the devils. Satan is the father of the wicked, and he and his children shall be tormented forever. They shall not have one drop of water to cool their burning tongues.
Many people in hell will say, ‘How I wish I had listened to what I learned from the Bible! But I would not think about them. Now it is too late. I never can come out of this dreadful place. How foolish I have been! There was a time when God would have heard my prayers, but now I weep and wail in vain.’
I hope, my dear children, that none of you will ever speak such sad words. Remember that Satan goes about as a cunning serpent, trying to make you disobey God. But Christ will keep you from wickedness if you pray to Him.
One day God will burn up this world we live in. It is dreadful to see a house on fire. Did you ever see one? But how dreadful it will be to see this great world and all the houses and trees burning! The noise will be terrible. The heat will be very great. The wicked will not be able to get away. They will be cast into the lake of fire If you are God’s child, you will not be frightened when the world is burning. You will be safe with Jesus, praising Him for having loved you and saved you.
How oft behind you hill
The sun has hid his face!
How oft returned to fill
With joyful light the place!
And shall the sun forever thus return?
Shall morn succeed to eve, and eve to morn?
O no, the day shall come,
(And who can tell how soon!)
When dark shall be that sun,
And red the silver moon;
When sun or moon shall never more return,
But God on clouds shall come the world to burn.
O, say, shall I be there,
To see the dreadful glare,
The dreadful sound to hear,
The dreadful heat to bear,
Of falling crags and rocks, of roaring seas,
Of smoking hills, and flaming earth and skies?.
O yes, I shall be there;
The graves shall opened be;
All shall the trumpet hear,
The Judge’s face shall see.
In vain shall some upon the mountains call
To hide their heads from Him who judges all.
The books shall then be read,
In which our God has wrote
All that we ever said,
Or ever did or thought.
And many cheeks with burning shame shall glow,
And many souls be plunged in deepest woe.
And how shall I escape
From endless misery?
My sins, a mighty heap,
Show I deserve to die.
And yet to think upon that burning lake
Makes my flesh tremble, and my bones to shake.
Lord, by the blood He shed
Who hung upon the tree,
Before the books are read,
May my sins pardoned be!
And then my tears shall all be wiped away
And I shall dwell in everlasting day.
Questions
When will the last day come?
What great noise will there be at the last day?
What will Jesus say to all the dead people?
What will be done to the bodies of people who love Jesus?
Where will Jesus sit?
What has Jesus written down in His books?
Whose sins will Jesus forgive?
Where has He written down their names?
Where will God put the wicked?
Who will torment them forever?
The happiness of heaven
A verse from the Bible for you to learn: