Title: Jesus Is . . .The Returning King
Series: Who Is Jesus? (Sermon # 6)
Text: 1 Thess 4:13 - 5:11
Date Preached: April 6, 2008
COPYRIGHT © Joe La Rue, 2008
INTRODUCTION
A. Since Jesus left this world, there has been no shortage of those who have predicted that Jesus would return on such-and-such date. I was in college when Edgar Whisenaut, a NASA scientist, published the book “88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Occur in 1988.” He set the date for the taking up of Christians to be with Jesus as Oct 11, 1988. In Psychology class that morning, my professor pointed out that perhaps our faith had not been strong enough, since we were still there! Whisenaut’s prediction did not come true, and there have been many other predictions, naming various dates for the return of Christ, all based on the forecasters’ interpretation of the Bible, which likewise have not come true. But that doesn’t mean that the Second Coming of Jesus won’t happen.
B. As you may be aware, we are in the midst of a series of teaching called “Who Is Jesus?” In previous weeks we have seen that Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, and the one who died to save us, and the one who rose victorious from the dead. Last week we talked about how Jesus is God come in human flesh, fully God and fully man at the same time. This week, as we continue this study, we’re adding a new understanding of Jesus to the mix: Jesus is the Returning King. In spite of the inaccuracies of the forecasts for the end of the world that I just shared with you, the Bible is clear: Jesus will someday return to this earth to conclude earth’s history and to usher in eternity. Only this time, He will not come as a helpless baby. No, this time He will come as the reigning and conquering King.
C. While there are many passages of Scripture that teach this truth, I have chosen one to focus our attention upon this morning. It’s found in 1 Thess 4, beginning in verse 13. The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the church in Thessalonica, a city in modern-day Greece. Paul had founded a church there on his second missionary journey (Acts 17), and he wrote the First Letter to the Thessalonians to answer certain questions they had about the Christian faith. And in this letter, beginning in the thirteenth verse of chapter four, the Apostle Paul takes up the question of the Second Coming of Christ. Look at it with me: 1 Thess 4:13. The Bible says,
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
“Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.” (1 Thess 4:13 - 5:11, NASB).
D. Trans: There are two truths associated with the Second Coming that this passage addresses. First, the return of the King is certain: Jesus is coming again.
I. THE RETURN OF THE KING IS CERTAIN.
A. Consider the wording that Paul employed in this passage.
1. In verse 14 he wrote: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”
a. Now, our translations say “if we believe that Jesus died and rose,” but in the original Greek in which this letter was written, we find the Greek word εί (ei), “if,” with what’s known as the first person plural, indicative form of the verb πιστεύϖ (pisteuō), “we believe.”
b. The Greeks used ‘ei’ with an indicative verb to communicate that the condition about which they were talking was true. In other words, Paul wasn’t saying, “If Jesus really rose, and I hope He did . . . .” Rather, he was saying, “If Jesus rose, as we know He did . . . .”
c. And Paul says, “If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, as we know He did, even so—that’s the Greek word οὕτως, (houtōs), which means “in the same way” or “just like that.” Putting this together, Paul is saying, “If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, as we know that He did, in the same way we can believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have already died as believers when Jesus comes.” You see, if the Resurrection of Christ is believable, as we know that it is, then the Return of Christ is certain!
2. Now look at verse 16—“The Lord Himself will descend.” Not, ‘might descend’ or ‘could descend.’ “The Lord Himself will descend.” Similarly, look at verse 17—“we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.” And verse 2 of chapter 5, “The day of the Lord will come like a thief.” And verse 3 of chapter 5, “Destruction will come upon them.”
3. The return of the King is certain!
B. So, let me bring this all together for us this morning. Here’s the picture, friends. The Bible is saying that
1. First, we don’t have to sorrow in grief unquenchable when our loved ones die, because we have the promise of eternal life. That’s what he says in verse 13, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are ‘asleep,’—that was a euphemism meaning, ‘those who are dead’—that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope.”
a. This doesn’t mean that Christians don’t cry when their loved ones pass. This doesn’t mean that we aren’t sorrowful. What it means, though, is that we don’t grieve ‘as do those who have no hope.’ Jesus wept when His good friend Lazarus died. It’s natural to be sorrowful when we lose ones we love. But “[w]e who have a hope of reunion at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ should not weep as if death ended everything eternally.” (Wilbur Fields, Thinking Through Thessalonians 113 (Joplin: College Press, 1963)).
b. Is there anyone here who is looking forward to seeing again someone that they love who has already died? Can I get an ‘amen’ to that?
c. Paul said, “We have hope, because the return of the King is certain.”
2. Second, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ provides the anchor for our faith in the Return of Jesus Christ. That’s what the Bible says in verse 14! Because Jesus died and rose again, we can know that His promised return is certain. ‘For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again—and we do!—in the same way we can believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have died in their faith when He comes.’
3. Third, when Jesus returns to this earth, He is not coming alone. The Bible says that He will bring with Him the spirits of those who have already died as Christians.
a. That means that when Jesus returns, Burl Giltner, my Grandma, is coming with Him. And Wayne Deaver, and Red Waggoner, and Zelma Mikeworth, and a host of others too numerous to mention, are coming with Him. Now, you don’t know these people, but I do. And I can’t wait to see them again. When Jesus comes, He will bring their spirits with Him. The Bible says that when we die, we go immediately to heaven to be with Jesus. But when Jesus returns, our spirits come with Him.
b. The return of the King is certain, as is the return of our loved ones!
4. Fourth, God will instantaneously recreate the bodies of our loved ones, and those bodies will rise from within the earth and meet their spirits in the air. That’s what the Bible says in verse 16—“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”
a. You see, as my Grandma’s spirit is coming down, her body is going to be recreated. And it’s going to rise. It’s going to rise in the air to meet her spirit, and her spirit is going to fuse with that perfectly created spirit-body.
b. This is what the Bible talks about in 1 Cor 15:51 & 52—“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep [we shall not all die], but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the ‘dead will be raised imperishable,’ and we shall be changed.”
c. The spirits of the Christian dead are going to descend with Jesus, and their bodies are going to be raised imperishable, and spirit will meet body in the air, and we shall be changed. We shall be given a body that will never again know infirmity or disease. It will never again grow old. It will never again suffer. Does anybody here want a body like that? Can I get an amen?
d. The Return of the King is certain, and so is the new, perfected, unblemished, body that we shall receive.
5. Fifth, those who are still alive when Jesus comes will rise to meet Him in the air. Verse 17—“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them—that is, with our returning loved ones—to meet the Lord in the air.” That word, ‘meet,’ is the Greek ἀπάντησις (apantēsis). When a ruler back in those days paid a visit to a city, all the leading citizens would go out to greet him and escort him on the final leg of his journey to their city. That action was known as the apantēsis. And Paul chose that word no doubt because it was the best word to describe what is going to happen when Jesus returns: we who are alive will rise in the air to meet Him, and will escort the reigning King back to earth (John Stott, The Gospel and the End of Time 104 (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1991)).
6. And finally, sixth, we can derive comfort from the certainty of the King’s return. Verse 18—“Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
a. Does anybody here get tired of how life always seems to be a fight? There are schedules to keep. There are bills to pay. There are conflicts with people: sometimes we have problems in our relationships, or our children do. People get mad at us, and we get mad at them. And sometimes just getting out of bed is a struggle: we get aches and pains, and sometimes we get sick. We struggle with job uncertainty and health uncertainty and life uncertainty. And sometimes we just wish that life didn’t have to be so hard!
b. That’s what Jesus was talking about one time in John 16:33. Jesus said, “In the world ye have tribulation.” And we do! We have all the problems and struggles and difficulties that I just mentioned, including persecution for our faith. But I love how Jesus ends this verse. Listen! “In the world ye have tribulation, but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world!” (John 16:33, KJV). Jesus has overcome and is victorious over every situation that our world throws at us! And when Jesus comes again, we will fully experience that victory! No longer will we have tribulation!
c. When life gets rough, we need to remember: the return of the King is certain, so we should comfort each other with that promise.
C. Trans: Now, very quickly, let me share one more truth from this passage: The return of the King is certain, but the timing of the King’s return is unknown.
II. THE TIMING OF THE KING’S RETURN IS UNKNOWN.
A. Here is where all the forecasters of Christ’s return have gotten into trouble: they have tried to predict a date that the Bible says we cannot know.
1. Look at verse 2 of chapter 5—“The day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.” It will be unexpected, just as we don’t expect a thief to break into our homes.
2. Now, verse 3—“While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’, then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child.” Again, people won’t expect Jesus to come ‘right then,’ but He will come nonetheless.
3. Jesus one time was talking about His return and He said, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Matt 24:36, NASB). Friends, if Jesus doesn’t know the date, then I’m pretty sure that I can’t predict it either.
4. We should not engage in futile speculation about when Jesus will return. It’s enough that we know that He will return. Nor should we assume that He cannot come until this event occurs or that event happens. All we know for sure about the time of the return is that we don’t know for sure about the time of the return! But make no mistake, the Return of the King is Certain, even if the Timing of the Return is Unknown!
B. So, what should our reaction be to this teaching? In addition to comforting each other, we should make sure that we are prepared to meet Jesus face to face. Look at verses 5 through 7—“For you are all sons of light and sons of day.” In other words, you belong to Jesus. “So then let us not sleep as others, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.” In other words, we are to make sure that our behavior is ‘daytime behavior,’ since we belong to Jesus now: we are to strive to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to Him, because we want to be ready for His return, and He could come at any time.
CONCLUSION
A. Many of you here this morning know the story of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the commander of the American forces in the Philippines when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941 and launched their assault on the Philippine Islands later that day. When all hope of saving the Philippines was lost, President Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to escape to Australia to organize the American war effort in the Pacific Theater. The problem was, MacArthur loved the Filipino people, and he wanted to stay and fight with them, even though it was a lost cause. However, he obeyed his orders and, after sneaking aboard a submarine and sailing through enemy controlled seas, he arrived in Australia on March 17, 1942, at which time he uttered the quote which made headlines around the world and gave great hope to the Philippine resistence movement: “I came through, and I shall return.”
It is said that the people of the Philippines rallied around MacArthur’s promise. They knew that MacArthur loved them. They trusted that he would not abandon them. And when life became nearly impossible under their Japanese conquerors, they whispered to each other: “MacArthur will come back! MacArthur will return.”
And so it was that on Oct 20, 1944, Gen. MacArthur’s forces landed on Philippine soil and began the fight to free the Philippines from the Japanese. MacArthur stood on that beach and, in a moment for the ages, uttered his most famous quote,
“I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God, our forces stand again on Philippine soil.”
B. Friends, as glorious an event as that was, it cannot hold a candle to the return of the King. At some point in time, maybe a thousand years from now, maybe ten years from now, maybe tomorrow, maybe today, Jesus is going to return and by the grace of Almighty God will stand again on this earth’s soil. He loves us, and He will never abandon us. By the grace of Almighty God, He will finally and completely vanquish our enemy, the devil. By the grace of Almighty God, He will conclude our present history and usher in eternity. By the grace of Almighty God, He will bring with Him our loved ones who have gone before us. And by the grace of Almighty God, He will give us all a new, spirit-body, and never again will there be death, or mourning, or crying, or pain. By God’s grace He will accomplish all of this. The return of the King is certain, even if the timing of the return is unknown.
C. Are you ready for Jesus to come again? Have you given yourself to him in faith? Have you accepted His offer of salvation so that, as the Bible says in the passage we read, “whether we are alive or dead, we may live together with Him?” If not, this is your time. This is your chance. This is your opportunity. Jesus could come today. And we are supposed to be alert and sober: in other words, we are to be ready for His return. If you are not sure that you are ready—if you need to accept Jesus as Savior—please come forward as we sing the invitation hymn this morning.
