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The Certainty of the Second Coming
May 3, 2020
Pastor Brad Reaves
Grace Community Church
Revelation 1:7-8
Before we go on to looking at the letters Jesus sent to the seven church in Asia Minor, I want to circle back around to verses 7 & 8 of chapter 1. We read in these two verses:
7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:7-8)
There is probably more speculation about the second coming of Christ than any other future event of this world. Any there is probably more certainty of this event, even by non-Christians than most people will admit; or want to admit. It is important that before we dig into the heart of this series that we fully understand the certainty and imminence of Christ’s return.
The Apostles in the first century lived under the imminent return of Jesus. They fully believed that Christ was returning before they died. The distance of time has not created any distance in that imminence; if anything, it’s made it more certain than ever. Prophetically, there is more certainty than ever. In fact, the Old Testament spoke more of the Second Advent of Christ than the First. Of the 46 Old Testament Prophets, 10 of them spoke of Jesus first arrival; 36 speak of his second coming. There are over 1,500Old Testament passages that refer to the Second Coming. 1 in 25 New Testament verses directly refer to it. Jesus refers to His second coming 21 times and admonishes us to be ready for His return 50 times.
It is a major theme of Scripture and surprisingly in recent years has lost its place of significance on Sunday, mornings. This is to the detriment of the church, I believe, and speaks to the apostacy of the modern church, not to the weight of what is about to happen. So this morning, we’re going to break down these two verse and open deep into Scripture and unveil the prophetic events around Christ’s return. Given our current state of the world, this is probably timelier than ever.
I. His Imminent Return
“Behold” (v.7)
In theater, there is a practice known as upstaging. It is when the supporting characters turn their backs on the audience, forcing their gaze on the lead actor who has entered the stage. John is doing something like this in the opening section of Revelation, drawing all our attention to the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is giving us our only instructions on what we are to do: “Behold.” “EE-thoo” is a prompter to get the reader’s attention. “Pay close attention to what is being said!”
Our expectation of Christ’s coming is to be the most prevalent part of our faith. Let me say that again. The Bible promises it, God demands it, the hope of the world demands it, and our eternity is dependent on it. Without the Second Coming of Christ, there is not bodily resurrection of the dead. We’re not just looking for heaven, we’re constantly looking for Christ. Those of us who are witnesses to the coming of Christ will be witnesses of the greatest event of the age, promised by God to Adam and Eve after the fall of man.
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, (Titus 2:11-13)
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8)
Jesus admonished his disciples and us repeatedly, over 50 times, as I mentioned earlier to be ever watchful for his return: 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 24:44)
The timing of Christ return is described as unexpected (1 Thess 5:1-2; Matt 24:30-34), imminent (John 21:22, Rom 13:11-12; James 5:8-9; Rev 3:11; Rev 22:20), Not even Christ knew the day or hour he would be coming back, only the Father (Matt 24:36). But there are signs and these signs are all around us. The pandemic is not the sign, but it is a sign that Jesus mentions specifically. What other signs?
• The Universal Preaching of the Gospel (Matthew 24:14; Acts 1:7-8)
• The Persecution of Believers (Matt 24:4; 21, 22; Mark 13:12-13; 2 Tim 3:1, Rev 7:14)
• Apostasy in the Church (1 Tim 4:1; Matt 24:10, 2 Tim 3:1-5; 2 Pet 3:3-4)
• The appearance of false christs, teachers, and prophets (Matt 24:24; Matt 7:15, Luke 17:23)
• Wars & Rumors of Wars (Matt 24:6-7)
• Famines & Earthquakes (Matt 24:7-8)
• The Appearance of the Antichrist (1 John 2:18) Scripture indicates this is a person, but also includes a corporate anti-Christ movement (Dan 7:20-21, 1 Th 2:2-3, 1 John 4:3, Rev 13:1-10)
• Cosmic Shaking - The fundamentals of the cosmos and the balance of life will be shaken (Matt 24:29)
II. His Personal Return
“He is coming with the clouds...” (Rev 1:7)
When John wrote that Jesus was coming through the clouds, he undoubtedly was referring more to Daniel 7 than Acts 1. Nearing the end of the Babylonian Exile, Daniel saw troubling visions of terrible beasts and events. Above all of these visions, Daniel then saw the Ancient of Days sitting on his throne, reminding Daniel of God’s sovereignty and judgement over all kingdoms of the world (Daniel 7:3-14). Revelation 1:7 is referring to Christ in terms of Daniel 7:13 where Daniel saw that “with the clouds of heaven there come one like the son of man (Daniel 7:13).
He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind (Psalm 104:3)
Clouds in the Bible are a symbol of God’s presence. It was a cloud that led Israel through the wilderness, it was a cloud that filled the temple in 1 Kings 8:10. A cloud enshrouded Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:5). All of this emphasized Christs divine glory and authority.
Christ’s return is imminent and it is personal. He is coming with the clouds - all of this authority. He will not be a humble baby, but he will return as a victorious King enshrouded in clouds of glory before all the world.
He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Matthew 24:7-11) What was the purpose of his going? So that the Holy Spirit can come upon His Church and preach the gospel. That is why. In the same way he left, he is coming again. Except this time, it will not be a handful of disciples, but the entire world that will see him
III. His Absolute Return
“Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him (Rev 1:7)
When Christ was on earth his glory was veiled. Only 3 of the Disciples, Peter, James and John saw Jesus transfigured on Mt Tabor. When he returns, his glory will not be veiled. God turns out the lights of the universe, the sun goes out, the moon and the stars all go out. In a pitch-black universe the blazing glory of Jesus Christ will be seen by us like a million suns.
Every eye will see him. There will be no mistake. There will be no guessing who he is… a bird… a plane. Every eye will see the glory of God. John says all tribes will see him, meaning no person, groups of people, nations, religions, families, or anyone will be excluded on beholding the glorious Jesus Christ. “Those who pierced him” isn’t referring to the Romans but to the Jews who rejected him and turned him over to the Romans. This comes directly from Zechariah and was also quoted by John in his gospel:
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child (Zech 12:10)
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:27).
Will you see him? Absolutely you will. The question is How will you see him? Will he be your returning King or returning to judge?
An important implication of this teaching is that when Christ returns, there will be no further opportunity for salvation, since his coming involves the immediate resurrection and final judgment of all persons (Matt. 25:31–32; 1 Thess. 4:16). Those who rejected Jesus in this age will be forced to see how wrong they were as his sovereign glory is displayed to all. (Richard Phillips)
IV. His Triumphant Return
“…and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen” (Rev 1:7).
Lastly when Jesus returns, it will be Triumphant as his final judgement over all persons will commence. John writes of Jesus’ return as an event that catches most people unprepared and unforgiven because of their unbelief. The Antichrist and the spirit of the antichrist is working at all times to corporately turn people away from Jesus and his teachings. In their own way Jesus is pierced through mockery and rejection.
This is why Jesus is writing these letters to these churches; and not only the 7 churches here, but to all churches today. We are going to give an account for what we did with our faith. I think there will be many who will wail because they did not grieve for their sins when they had the chance. There will be churches who will hide in shame because they focused more on petty arguing rather than the Great Commission.
The world “wail” is sometimes translated “mourning.” The Greek word is “kopto” which means literally “to cut.” In the east, when people were in deep despair, the would cut themselves. It’s not uncommon today for some to still do that today. It’s demonic. The coming of Christ will be so grievous to most that they will be like the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18:28
He came in 2000 years ago to bring an age of grace. His work on the cross and resurrection opened the floodgates of God’s grace and forgiveness. When he returns, he is coming triumphantly in judgement to defeat satan and his evil once and for all. As he returns his foot will land on the Mt of Olives and split the mountain in two (Zech 14:4). Those who received Christ Jesus as Lord over all of their life will bow before him with all humility and reverence. Everyone else will wail.
The end of verse 7 is John’s and all believer’s response to the second coming. The full glory of Christ is seen as he comes with the clouds and to sum it all up, John says, “Even so. Amen” (Rev. 1:7). It’s as if, John adds in, “Let’s do this. I’m ready!” Are you ready that way? An easy way to clarify that is to ask yourself, does the return of Christ fill you with Joy or doom?
Conclusion - His Eternal Reign
“I am the Alpha and Omega, “ says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev 1:8)
I want to conclude this message here with verse eight. It is directly connected to what John described in verse 7, in my opinion. DO you know why? Because God is saying to all of us, if you don’t think for sure this is going to happen, let me affirm to you who is in charge. I AM. This is God’s signature, so to speak, on this passage. He pressed His Signiant ring and sealed this. The scarlet thread of Scripture didn’t end with the empty tomb; it ends with Second Coming. So, God says, “I am the alpha and omega.” Why that?
Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In our alphabet are 26 letters. These 26 letters can form an infinite number of words arranged in endless combinations for us to hold and convey all knowledge. So, Jesus is say, “within me contains all things. From the very beginning to the very end.” There is nothing outside of him that exists or could ever happen or could even foil his plan. The existence of God is completely open ended. He always has been and always will be. He is not limited by time or space; time and space exist in Him and through him
So, “I am the Alpha and Omega” (all-knowing), the beginning and the end (omnipresence), and lastly the Almighty (omnipotence). He is in control, he is supreme. Yes, he is coming again and he’s coming with the clouds. He guarantees it with the essence of his very being and the whole world will see it. Either this will be a moment of joy or a moment of wailing. But it will happen, and he wants you to be ready
Take it to the Cross
Close
Pray
