When Jesus Comes
1 John 2:26-29
It is my prayer that everyone of you would, as John urged his readers in 1 John 2:28, "Remain in Christ!"; that is to continually maintain such a close walk with the Lord, persevering in faithfulness and sound biblical doctrine, that His return will bring joy to your heart not tears to your eyes. Jesus Christ is coming again. It seems like most preachers seldom preach on His promised return. Someone asked H. A. Ironside, who loved to preach on the second coming, why he preached so much on the second coming. He said, “I preach so often on the second coming because my brethren neglect it so, and I feel that I have to give the right proportion for the preaching of the church, so I have to overdo it in order to make up for their omission of it. Friend, realize His return is real. His return will be a reunion. For some His return will bring reward. For others His return will be ruination. The question today is will you be ready when He comes?
I His Return is Real
A. 2 Peter 3:3-4 "...Scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”
B. Did you know that nearly one-fifth of the Bible is prophetic (futuristic) and nearly one-third of that which is prophetic concerns events related to the second coming of Christ?
C. throughout the history of the church from the time of the New Testament, it has always had…listen carefully…on its inside, skeptics who felt it was their role to deny the coming of Christ. The church has always had to endure the denial of the return of Christ. There are those who inevitably spiritualize it away and say, “The significance of the kingdom of Christ is nothing more than Christ ruling within you, and Jesus is never coming back to this earth.
D. Theologian C.H. Dodd who wrote a book entitled "Parables of the Kingdom" said, "since the Lord did not in literal truth return on the clouds of heaven during the ‘30s of the first century, to expect Him thus to return in the twentieth century is to go contrary to primitive Christianity which is true Christianity.”
E. The Promise of Christ - John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled ye believe in God believe also in me. In my father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there ye may be also.”
F. The Promises of the angelic messengers at Christ's ascension - Acts- Acts 2:10-11 "while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
G. The Promises of the Word of God - Clarence McCartney said, “If the second coming passages are deleted from the Bible, the Bible becomes an unintelligible book.”
1. The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is mentioned three hundred-eighteen times in the New Testament. There are over 660 general prophecies, 333 about Christ - 109 fulfilled at His first Coming, 224 still to be fulfilled at His Second Coming. There are over 1,500 Old Testament passages that refer to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. 1 out of every 25 New Testament verses directly refers to the Second Coming of Christ. For every time the Bible mentions the first Coming of Christ, it mentions His Second Coming 8 times. Jesus refers to His Second Coming 21 times and over 50 times we are told to be ready for His return.
2. The Old Testament speaks loudly of the second coming -
a. Isaiah 9:6-7 "“Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called, wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the prince of peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
b. Malachi 4:1-3 "For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,” says the Lord of hosts."
H. The second coming of Christ is imminent. The English word “imminent” comes from the Latin verb “immineo, imminere,” which means to “overhang” or “project.” In light of this, the English word “imminent” means “hanging over one’s head, ready to befall or overtake one; close at hand in its incidence.” Thus, an imminent event is one that is always hanging overhead, is constantly ready to befall or overtake a person, is always close at hand in the sense that it could happen at any moment. Other things may happen before the imminent event, but nothing else must take place before it happens.
I. The certainty of the Second Coming of Christ should touch and tincture every part of our daily behavior. - John Blanchard
J. 1 John 3:2-3 "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure"
II For Believers His Return will be a Reunion
A. Death is a fact of life. Death is not an accident; it is an appointment.
B. Hebrews 9:27 "It is appointed unto men to die, but after this the judgment"
C. Edgar Morin, a French philosopher, said "The certainty of death and the uncertainty of the hour of death is a source of grief throughout our life."
D. A funeral home director once remarked, "You know, there's a big difference between the funerals of those who are Christians and those who are unsaved." This man had witnessed hundreds of funerals and had been impressed by the striking difference between the behavior of true believers and those who did not have faith in Christ. He had observed that Christians are comforted by the Apostle Paul's words in 1 Thessalonians 4. Believers may grieve at the separation from their loved one but are comforted by the fact that God, in His matchless love and power, is planning a glorious reunion.
E. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep 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 by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."
F. The reunion is going to be three-fold, first those who have gone to be with the Lord will be reunited with their resurrected bodies. Secondly, those of us who will be alive when Christ comes will be reunited our Christian loved ones who have gone on before us into God's presence. Thirdly, there will be a reunion with Christ. On that day when the Lord will come back, all true believers will be gathered together into the presence of the Lord. "And so shall we ever be with the Lord."
III For Some His Return will Result in Reward
A. Revelation 22:12 " And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be."
B. Few Christians realize they will also face judgment before Jesus Christ. This not judgment for our sins, which were judged and paid for by Christ's blood on the cross, but a judgment for our works that we did after receiving Christ. Jesus will hold each of us accountable for the deeds we performed in our earthly lives.
C. 2 Corinthians 5:10 (ESV) "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil."
D. In 1 John 2:27-28 we are exhorted to abide in Him so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.
E. Every believer, including John, will have one of two responses to Jesus when they stand in His presence for the first time: the believer either will be comfortable in His presence or will be looking for somewhere to hide in humiliation....the judgment alluded to here must be what has been labeled the Bema Seat judgment of Christ... In this judgment every deed of every believer will be judged. Paul states in 1 Corinthians that judgment will evaluate the quality of their impact in the lives of others, what value they added to the foundation of Christ in each believer’s life. Paul warns that some believers will find all of their works burned but will themselves be saved “as through fire,” having lost everything.- Derickson, First, Second, and Third John, Evangelical Exegetical Commentary
F. Some Christians will be “ashamed before Him at His presence” (1 John 2:28). All believers are “accepted,” but there is a difference between being “accepted” and being “acceptable.” A disobedient child who goes out and gets dirty will be accepted when he comes home, but he will not be treated as though he were acceptable. “Therefore also we have as our ambition... to be pleasing to Him” (2 Corinthians 5:9, NASB). A Christian who has not walked in fellowship with Christ in obedience, love, and truth will lose his rewards; and this will make him ashamed. - Warren Wiersbe
G. The guarantee of not being ashamed is by heeding the exhortation of John to "Abide in Him" John 15:4-5 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."
IV For Some His Return will Result in Ruination
A. Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science teach, "heaven and hell are states of thought, not places. People experience their own heaven or hell right here in proportion as they draw closer to the love of God or fall into the confusion of dead-end materialism." - Questions and Answers on Christian Science, page 1
B. Christ's return will bring the final individual, eternal ruination of those who have rejected to surrender their lives to the Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
C. Romans 2:4-8 "do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath"
D. 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
E. I one time heard of a boy in England on the countryside walking down a lane, followed by a pig. Had he been followed by a dog, no one would have thought of it, but it was unusual to see a boy walking down the lane followed by a pig. And a man passing by, noticing it, said to the lad, "How do you get that pig to follow you?" And he said, "I do it with a bag of beans. I drop a bean here and a bean there and a bean there, and the pig comes along and he follows me, eating the beans.” And the man said, "Where are you taking the pig?" And the boy said, "To the slaughterhouse.” Deceived! “For this cause God shall send them strong delusion,” an energy, a working of deception, led astray, “that they might be damned who believe not the truth.”
F. The blessed hope of the believer is the terror of the world. - copied
G. Jeremiah 8:20 " “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved!”
V For all of us His Imminent Return is a call to be Ready
A. Luke 12:40 "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
B. Christ's coming will take place like a thief in the night; it will be unannounced and sudden.
C. Matthew 24:44 " Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
D. There had been an accident. It was in the middle of the night, two dozen miles from anywhere. The cars sat like crumpled candy wrappers on the side of the road. Five people lay by the highway. Everyone was alive, but they all needed the ambulance. Fortunately there was a pay phone about a hundred yards down the highway. One man, the youngest, painfully limped the distance, placed a call to the nearest town, and limped back to be with the others.
"It's okay," he told them, "I talked to the ambulance driver. He'll be out to get us very soon." "Thank heaven," sighed a woman who lay by the bushes where she had been thrown. "This road is so deserted. I doubt anyone would have passed us until morning."
After a long pause a large man in a business suit spoke up. "How do you know he's coming?" he asked gruffly. "I don't believe he is." "He promised he would," the young man answered. "I talked to him myself." Nearby, two elderly brothers leaned back to back against a speed-limit sign. "Tell me young man," said one. "Exactly what did the ambulance driver say? " "Yes," added the other, "We must know his exact words."
The young man thought. "He said, 'Stay off the road and keep alert. Don't let anyone doze off. I'm about thirty-one miles away. I promise I'll be there just as soon as I can.' And that was it." "Hmmm," one of the brothers said, pulling a pocket calculator from his jacket. "Thirty-one miles. Let's see, average speed, fifty-five. I figure he will arrive in exactly 34 minutes and 24 seconds."
"Balderdash!" shouted the first. "You're not allowing for the 100 yards between the phone booth and our present position." "I am so!" retorted the second. "Gentlemen please," the young man said. "The ambulance driver didn't say when he would get here, only that he would. That's the important thing, isn't it? " The elderly brothers lowered their voices but kept arguing.
"Oh my," said the woman, sounding worried. "Thirty-three or thirty-four minutes, how am I ever going to mend this dress before he gets here? " Finding a little sewing kit in her purse she moaned, "I've got so many things to do. I hope he doesn't get here too soon."
"He won't get here at all," growled the businessman. "I can't wait here forever. I'm going to get help myself." Dragging himself to his feet, he staggered down the road in the opposite direction from the phone booth. "Wait!" called the young man. "He'll be here. I know it." "Ha!" said the businessman. "You're going the wrong way," persisted the young man.
The businessman's voice was fading. "There's bound to be a town in either direction," he declared. "I can take care of myself, boy." Then he was gone.
"I have it," cried one of the elderly brothers. " 'Stay off the road,' that ambulance man said. There's a hidden meaning there. If you study it closely it means the ambulance will not arrive on the road at all, but out there in the trees and brush somewhere." "No, in the hills," the other brother countered. "In any case we must get away from the road immediately." Slowly they got up.
"Wait!" the young man said. "He didn't mean we were to leave the road!" The brothers shook their heads. "Son, you have not studied the driver's statement as we have. There are mysteries here you cannot comprehend." They turned and wandered off into the night, arguing about whether they would hear the ambulance siren or see the flashing light first.
Shivering, the young man called to the woman, "Are you still there?" "Yes, yes," she snapped. "But I'm very busy. Ouch. I've got a million things to do before he gets here and I don't want to be disturbed."
In a minute the young man felt himself starting to doze off. He shook himself. "Got to stay awake," he said. "Got to keep alert." Folding his arms against the cold he stared off into the darkness, wide-eyed.
The first pink hints of dawn were appearing in the sky by the time they heard the siren. "Oh, no, no!" cried the woman, looking up from the dress she was still mending. "He can't come yet. I've still got so much to do! I've got to hide. He can come back and get me later. I've just got to finish this dress." Gathering up her sewing kit she stumbled awkwardly off the shoulder and into the woods. "Don't let him find me!" she pleaded. "I'm not ready yet!"
The young man struggled to stand as the ambulance, red lights flashing, screeched to a halt in front of him. "What happened to the others?" the driver asked surveying the scene. "They left," the young man answered. "They didn't believe or weren't ready or got too involved something else." The driver nodded. "That happens."
Inside the ambulance the young man lay down on the cot and breathed a thankful sigh. He was safe at last. Then he looked around surprised. "Say," he called out to the driver. "This is a pretty small ambulance isn't it? I mean, you couldn't get a whole lot of people in it." "That's true," the driver replied. "But," he added with a sad note in his voice, "there weren't a whole lot of people left waiting for me, were there? " - (Stories that Sneak Up On You, by John Duckworth, Revell, 1987.)
Are you like the business man who lost faith and tried to save himself? Are you like the elderly brothers who miscalculated the ambulance's arrival and wandered out into the woods? Are you like the woman who was busy and unprepared by the ambulance's arrival? Or are you like the young man who stayed alert, trusted, and readied himself? Jesus says, "Be watchful. Be alert."
