SNAPSHOTS OF THE SECOND COMING
Matthew 24:36-51, NIV
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: WRONG IDEAS ABOUT THE BIBLE
1. Old Mr. Simpson was a constant thorn in the side of the PTA, with his steadfast opposition to innovation.
2. For one thing, he was vociferously against the introduction of foreign languages in the town’s junior high school curriculum.
3. Waving his Bible in the air he shouted, “If English was good enough for the prophets and apostles, it’s good enough for me!”
4. Of course the Bible was not originally written in English, but mostly Hebrew and Greek. Many believers have had wrong ideas about the Second Coming too, so we’re going to study that tonight.
B. TEXT
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. 45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matt. 24:36-51, NIV
C. THESIS
1. Peter says that we are now closer to His coming than we were when we first believed. How true!
2. Bryan Jay writes - "Often, when we speak of Christ's coming, we emphasize the particulars of the event, but forget the Person of the event. What makes the second coming so encouraging to us as believers is that it is JESUS who is coming.”
3. “If Jesus isn't precious to us...and his bodily presence means little to us, then we’ll miss” the central most important fact of His Coming back to Earth!
4. So tonight we’re looking at 6 facts about His Coming which, conveniently, all start with an “S.” The title of tonight’s message is “Snapshots of the Second Coming.”
I. HIS COMING SHALL BE SECRET (Mt. 24:36,42,44)
A. MANY WRONG PREDICTIONS OF HIS COMING
1. October 22, 1844. William Miller, whose followers were called the Millerites, taught Christ would come on Oct. 22, 1844. Large numbers of people sold their goods and got on housetops. It’s failure was called “the Great Disappointment.” His followers founded the Seventh-day Adventist Church and continue to expect a soon Second Coming but no longer set dates for it.
2. In 1874 Charles Taze Russell, the first president of the Watchtower Society of the Jehovah's Witnesses, calculated 1874 to be the year of Christ's Second Coming, and until his death taught that Christ was invisibly present, and ruling from the heavens.
3. 1988 was taught by a number of prophecy “experts” as the year Christ would likely return because of the nation of Israel forming in 1948 plus one generation of 40 years. This too proved false.
4. Mark Blitz, starting in 2008, began teaching that Christ's return would correspond with the September 28, 2015 lunar eclipse. His idea, known as the Blood Moon Prophecy, attracted widespread media attention.
B. THE PROBLEM WITH DATE-SETTING
1. What do these all have in common? They all claim some extra-biblical knowledge or revelation but their premise contradicts the Lord’s own teaching:
2. Mark 13:32, “But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” So not even Jesus knows what day it is; so how can any human?
3. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God doesn’t come with observation, so that you can saw ‘Here it is’ or ‘There it is.’ For the Kingdom of God is within you." See verse Luke 17:20.
4. Paul said, “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2). So it will be a surprise when He comes.
II. HIS COMING WILL BE SUDDEN (27)
A. IT’S AN ENCOURAGEMENT
1. The suddenness of Jesus’ coming is an encouragement to those who love Him but a dread to those who don’t.
2. EXAMPLES:
a. Rev 22:7, “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keeps the sayings of the prophecy of this book.”
b. Rev. 22:12, “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
c. Rev. 22:20, “He which testifies these things says, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
B. IT’S INSTANTANEOUS
1. Paul described it as "...a moment, in the twinkling of an eye..." (1 Cor. 15:52). This could mean it occurs at the speed of light.
2. The word moment occurs only here and is the word that we get our word "atom" from. Atoms move extremely fast.
3. A third possibility is it’s referring to the blinking of an eye. Whichever it refers to, it seems to express extreme speed! Such will be the Lord’s coming!
III. HIS COMING SHALL BE SPECTACULAR (29-31)
A. FIRST TIME, THEY DIDN’T KNOW HIM
1. The Lord came into this world in almost total obscurity. “Those He made the world, the world didn’t recognize Him.”
2. He came to His own, but His own did not recognize Him. His own people rejected Him. They preferred Barabbas to Jesus!
B. BUT AT HIS 2ND COMING, THERE WILL BE NO DOUBT!
1. John said, "...every eye shall see Him..." (Rev. 1:7) and "...all the tribes of the earth shall mourn and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."(Mt. 24:30)
2. Jesus said, "For the Son of man shall come in THE GLORY OF HIS FATHER WITH HIS HOLY ANGELS; and then he shall reward every man according to his works" Matt. 16:27.
3. He’s not coming as a babe in a manger again - this time He’s coming as a King and Judge!
4. According to Rev. 6:15 the people of this world will try to hide in caves and dens of the Earth when they see Him coming. His coming across the universe will evidently take enough time that they think they might have time to get to a hiding place. But there will be no hiding place from the Lord of Hosts!
IV. HIS COMING SHALL BE SEPARATING Mt. 24:40-41
A. FOR MANY, IT’S NOT A HAPPY DAY
1. Has it occurred to you that the vast majority of people alive when Jesus returns will not be glad to see Him come? For millions and perhaps even billions!
2. Matt. 24:30 says, “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn...”
3. Rev. 6:16-17 says they will “pray to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits 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?’”
B. DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SEPARATION:
1. The Righteous and wicked will be separated like wheat and weeds are at harvest time (Matt 13:30). “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘Gather together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
2. There are the "sheep and the goats" of Matt. 25:31-33; “When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: 32 And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth His sheep from the goats: 33 And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.”
3. Matt. 24:40-41 declares, “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”
4. This verse closely describes the Rapture of the Church, which shall “catch-up” the faithful people of God and leave the rest of humanity to face the Great Tribulation period.
5. Christians who are caught up will be with Christ for all eternal; everyone else will have to endure separation from Christ, their family and friends forever in a place called Hell.
C. JAMES DAVIS ILLUSTRATION
1. When I was a little boy, my brother and I were riding on a country road with my father. Our mother was following behind us in another car. My dad asked if I would like to ride with my mother. I thought that was a good idea, so my father stopped the car and let me out on the side of the road.
2. My mother was probably two or three miles behind us at that time. So, I waved goodbye to my father and brother and began watching for my mother to arrive. Soon I saw her car in the distance and I began jumping up and down and waving my arms.
3. Suddenly, for some unknown reason, she passed me by. My first impulse was to begin running after her car. Soon, I found myself standing there in tears. I have never forgotten how it felt to be left behind.
4. When Jesus Christ comes back again, many people are going to be left behind. James O. Davis
V. HIS COMING WILL BE SANCTIFYING (45-46)
A. MOTIVATOR FOR HOLINESS
1. The hope of heaven is a powerful motivator for godly living that many people seem to virtually ignore in their daily lives.
2. “Think of stepping on a shore and finding it heaven
of taking hold of a hand and finding it God's hand
of breathing new air and finding it celestial air
of feeling invigorated and finding it immortality
of passing from storm and tempest to unbroken calm
and looking up and finding it home!
Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations (Rockville, Maryland: Assurance Publishers, 1979) p.545.
B. JOHN’S BELIEF
The Apostle John wrote, (1 Jn. 3:2-3), “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure.”
VI. HIS COMING SHOULD BE SOBERING! (42,44)
A. WE SHOULD BE LIVING CAREFULLY
1. Peter wrote in 2 Pet. 3:11, Amp., “ Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be [in the meantime] in holy behavior [that is, in a pattern of daily life that sets you apart as a believer] and in godliness [displaying profound reverence toward our awesome God]…”
2. It’s like Elisha’s servant who wanted Naaman’s gold. The prophet said, “Is this a time for acquiring houses and lands?” 2 Kgs. 5:26.
3. Paul asked the Corinthians why they were investing so much in this world; “What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them….For this world in its present form is passing away.” 1 Cor. 7:29,31.
4. We ought to be living as if Jesus could come at any minute and not letting the cares and affairs of this world dominate our lives. Who are we trying to please – God or men? Hopefully God!
B. READINESS IS CALLED FOR
1. Verse 44 emphasizes the need for "readiness" at the Lord's return. Someone said, "It is useless to set the day and hour for Christ's coming and it is folly to neglect it."
2. “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; BUT LET US WATCH AND BE SOBER!” 1 Thess. 5:4-6.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Tim LaHaye wrote that as a young boy, his father took him to the Henry Ford factory in Dearborn, Michigan, for a tour. One thing that caught his attention was the huge electromagnetic crane.
2. At the flip of a switch, all the metal inside a boxcar would shoot up and stick to that electromagnet. However, other non-metal items that initially started up with the metal fell back into the boxcar.
3. So will it be at the rapture: only true Christians will be changed by the Lord.
B. ALTAR SERVICE
1. David wrote in Psalm 12:1 NIV, “Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.”
2. I don’t think David was speaking of the rapture, but I do think that David’s statement will characterize the feelings of those who are left behind!
3. How terrible it will be when all the God-fearing, honest, and faithful people are removed from the world and all that’s left are the atheists and ungodly and insincere!
4. Those who had been on the fringes of Christianity will look around and realize – too late – that the rapture has happened and that they’ve been left.
5. The Lord told us to pray that we may be worthy to escape all the horrible things that are coming on the Earth. Praying for salvation is the first step to that, followed by commitments to walk with Jesus each day and read your Bible daily. Let’s pray!
[This message is a re-write of Stephen Trail’s message of the same title]
