“Jesus is coming BACK, UNEXPECTEDLY”
Week 3 of 5
Matthew 24:36-44
Since Christ returned to Heaven:
o people have been predicting the second coming
o but so far they’ve all been wrong
In fact, no one knows the exact date and time of the return of Jesus Christ:
But that hasn’t stopped people from predicting the 2nd coming of Christ.
CREDIT: http://www.booboone.com/end-time-predictions-and-return-of-jesus/
William Miller, leader of the Millerites:
- Millerites expected the Second Coming of Jesus to occur on April 28 or at the end of 1843
- When the prediction failed, William miller predicted another date, Mar 21, 1844,
Ursula Southeil, better known as Mother Shipton:
- is said to have been an English soothsayer and prophetess.
- Her publications contained a number of prophecies:
- regional predictions and the End of the World.
- 400 years earlier, Mother Shipton claimed that the world would end in 1881:
“The world to an end shall come. In eighteen hundred and eighty one”.
Jonas Wendell –
In 1870, Wendell published his views in the booklet concluding that the Second Advent was sure to occur in 1873.
In case you don’t remember, we are in 2020 now; Jesus is still yet to come.
Ed Dobson, Timothy Dwight IV, Edgar Cayce, Isaac Newton:
• All predicted the year 2000 would be the end.
In 2001, Harold Camping claimed:
- that the Rapture and Judgment Day would occur on May 21, 2011,
- and predicted the end of the world would arrive in five months later, on October 21, 2011.
Once again this is 2020 and Human beings are not in Heaven yet
Ronald Weinland is a former Worldwide Church of God (WCG) minister
- He predicted the second coming of Christ on September 29, 2011.
- When his prediction failed to occur, he changed the date to May 27, 2012.
- Again, that prediction failed. He then moved the date to May 18, 2013.
- Being now out of false predictions, as excuse, he claims “a day with God is as a year”.
- In 2013 he wasn’t in heaven or hell he was in prison for tax fraud.
All these people have at least 2 things in common:
#1 they were terrible at making predictions
#2 they were not good students of the Bible, or they would have known….
1. Only the Father knows when Jesus will return Matthew 24:36
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
Only God the Father knows the day and hour of the 2nd Coming:
o The angels don’t know
o Not even Jesus knows when the 2nd coming will be
o God knows, I don’t know, you don’t know
If Jesus doesn’t have that piece of information,
If it’s not on His calendar,
How could anyone be so BOLD as to tell us when Jesus will return??
1. Only the Father knows when Jesus will return
2. Many will pay the price for ignoring the salvation that Jesus bring (x2) Matthew 24:37-39
“ 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.”
2 Peter calls Noah a preacher of righteousness
- Noah’s message was simple, REPENT or you are going to die
- But they did not repent, and they died
- They could have been saved, but ignored their salvation
- That was right in front of them.
- After all, it’s hard to miss a guy building a giant boat in the desert for a 120 years
Though the people had heard the message, they DID not HEED the message..
We are living in the days of NOAH:
- 120 abortions a minute are performed in America
- Sexual sin and sexual abuse are the norm
- God is mocked, and His word is dismissed
- Pleasure and entertainment take the place of Holy worship
- Apathy and indifference sits in a pew at nearly every Church
The second Coming is going to be a surprise to some:
- Not ONLY because of the surprise timing
But because SOME of us are NOT prepared to meet the Lord…
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
– Matthew 7:21-23
Salvation is an open invitation, but it’s a limited time offer:
- God is loving, God is forgiving, God is merciful
- God is all that, but He is also Just:
He will not let sin go unpunished
Hebrews 9:22 reminds us
“22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (x2)..”
No sinful thing can be near God
o God lives in heaven, so we can’t be near God in heaven if we are sinners
o the bad news is that we are sinners, and separated from God by our SIN
o The Good News is that Jesus died on the Cross, shed His blood for your SIN
And in a short while:
- in the near future
- it could be today
- it could be before this sermon is over
- Jesus is returning and JUDGEMENT IS COMING.
Matthew 7:13-14 TELLS US TO
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
John 10:9 Jesus says “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.”
Jesus is the way to salvation,
and many will die because they ignored that salvation
1. Only the Father knows when Jesus will return
2. Many will pay the price for ignoring the salvation of Jesus
3. In the Judgment there will be a separation (x2) Matthew 24:40-41
“ 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.”
This is a separation that will occur when Jesus returns:
- there were two and then there is one
RIGHT NOW THIS morning:
Those on the Highway to Heaven and those on the Highway to Hell
- Are mixed together, But SOON,
there will be a separation...
Final exam:
- Last week was finals for me
- I’m working on my Master’s degree
- And the professor gave us a study guide
- He said know this, this and that
- Basically if knew what He said to know you should have no problem.
- I got an A on the final, but I haven’t got the test results
- Then how do I know I got an A?
- I studied the material and knew it frontwards and backwards….
If you know what is on the test, there is no excuse for failing the test!
Here’s what you need to know for Life’s final exam:
1. Only the Father knows when Jesus will return
2. Many will pay the price for ignoring the salvation that j offers
3. In the Judgment will be a separation
FINALLY….
4. Keep watch and stay ready (x2)(Matthew 24:42-44)
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.”
The thing about thieves is they never call and make a reservation:
- You just can’t predict when they are coming
- So you prepare with this in mind.
- They could come at any time
In the same way, since we don’t know when Jesus is coming:
- We stay vigilant in Bible study and prayer
- We keep steady in our obedience
- We are concrete in our faith
“Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ...” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2
In short: We take Jesus seriously when He says He’s coming unexpectedly:
But a lot of people, I’ll even say the MAJORITY of people are playing games with God:
? Hoping to get by with sinning
? Half heartedly following
? Saying one day they will believe, confess, repent and be Baptized….
? When is it going to a good time?
? But they aren’t really serious about their faith
How about you:
Are you serious about your faith?
Because if you really believe Jesus could come back at any moment
- It will change how you live every moment
- Jesus is coming BACK, He said so
- Jesus is coming BACK, SOON
- Jesus is coming BACK, UNEXPECTEDLY
Are you ready to meet Jesus?
o Will you meet Him as a friend or as an enemy.
o It’s really up to YOU
o He’s coming for YOU!
INVTIATION: “Work for the night is coming”
