Jesus is coming again. The Bible makes this fact very clear.
Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with promises of the Second Coming of Christ. There are 1,845 references to it in the Old Testament, and a total of seventeen Old Testament books give it prominence. Of the 260 chapters in the entire New Testament, there are 318 references to the Second Coming, or one out of 30 verses. Twenty-three of the 27 New Testament books refer to this great event. The four missing books include three which are single-chapter letters written to individual persons on a particular subject, and the fourth is Galatians which does imply Christ’s coming again. For every prophecy on the First Coming of Christ, there are 8 on Christ’s Second Coming.[1]
The second coming of Jesus is a hot topic, and has been from the very beginning. The disciples ask Jesus:
Matthew 24:3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Our subject today is that very thing. The Second Coming.
Matthew 24:23–31
How many here today trust our various news sources without question? How many believe our mainstream media has a slanted and bias view of the world and the events they report? Have I got a newsflash for you – You ain’t seen nothing yet. Jesus tells us that fakes new will be on the increase.
Matthew 24:23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him.
This is the third time since verse 1 that Jesus makes this warning.
Look at verse 5: “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.”
Look at verse 11: “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.”
You think Jesus is trying to tell us something here? More and more I believe we must be questioning everything we hear coming from the world. Yet we have people that will believe anything someone will post on Facebook. Facebook is definitely not one of my major news sources.
Fake news is all around us. However there is one things you can believe, and that is the Word of God we hold in our hands, yet many are reluctant to read it. Everything I hear and see I process by the Word of God. For lack of a better word, I will call it my "Biblical Worldview." I must view the world through the lens of Scripture.
As time grows closer to the end, the truth will be harder to find. Jesus warns us. If someone tells us there is the Christ, don’t believe it.
Matthew 24:24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
We must question everything. Even Satan can perform signs and wonders from our viewpoint. The masses will be misled and if it were possible, even the elect, the truly saved. Why will the saved not be led astray? Because they have the very Holy Spirit of God by which we are given discernment. No so with the unsaved. Paul explains:
2 Thessalonians 2:9–10 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.
The unsaved rejected the truth. They will be led astray by these signs and false wonders. Because they rejected the truth, Paul further explains:
2 Thessalonians 2:11–12 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
Jesus is giving us warning:
Matthew 24:25 Behold, I have told you in advance.
We must judge everything by the Word of God with the discernment given us by the Holy Spirit. Jesus further warns:
Matthew 24:26 So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them.
Some of what Jesus says here relates to events in the 1st century. But even in our own times, we see the Jehovah Witnesses being led astray by the claims of a secret coming of Christ in 1914 in which Jesus supposedly appeared to a few. Jesus says don’t believe it. So what will be coming Jesus be like?
Matthew 24:27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
As we will see in the coming verses, there will be no doubt as to the coming of Jesus. If there is any doubt whether an event is a coming of Jesus, then it is not. The coming of Jesus will be of such a nature that will know it – both the save and the unsaved, the whole world will know that Jesus is coming.
Matthew 24:28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
This verse is probably an old saying during the time of Jesus. But this verse has caused confusion among many. But let’s look at in context for its plain meaning. If you see vultures circling in a group (the KJV has “eagles” but eagles do not gather together, but word in the Greek is better translated as “vulture”) then you know something dead is there. A modern like saying might be: “Where there is smoke there is fire.” When you see these things happening, look for subject of these happenings.
An alternate interpretation is the corpse is the unbelieving world and the vultures are the coming judgment. This too fits with following verses concerning judgment.
Matthew 24:29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Immediately after the time of tribulation, there will be a great disturbance in the cosmos. The whole universe is disrupted. The upheavals in space will effect all of life on earth with earthquakes hurricanes tsunamis like the earth as never seen before. Come that day, the great and terrible day of the Lord (Joel 2:31), the day Jesus returns will be of such an event that great disturbances will be effecting the entire universe. I do believe these verses are a quite literal in their description of that day and not merely symbolic.
The sun going dark and moon not giving it’s light or turning to blood (red in color) I believe is quite literal for it is mentioned at least 10 times in the Old Testament, all in conjunction with the Day of the Lord, that day of judgment and inferred to in other places. It is used at least 6 times in the New Testament, again, all dealing with the time of the end, the time of Jesus’ coming. I believe these events will last many hours or even days. There will be no missing these events by anyone, anywhere on the planet. People will be amazed and terrified, asking what is happening. The believer will know.
Matthew 24:30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.
“Then” is the Greek word “tote” as we have discussed in a past sermon, this is what follows, it is at this time that “the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky.” What is that sign. The scripture does not say, but I believe we will instinctively know. One commentator said perhaps this should be read as, “the sign that is the Son of Man,” implying that He Himself will be the final sign as He descends.[2]
“Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn.” Why will they be morning? Because they know that judgment is coming and it is coming for them. However, believers will be rejoicing at these signs. In Luke’s parallel verse we read:
Luke 21:28 But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
What a horrible day that will be for the world. What a wonderful day that will be for the believers left on the earth at that time. “They will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.” Jesus will be coming on the clouds, not like his humble first coming, born a baby in the little town of Bethlehem, but coming a King and Judge with great power and great glory. Everyone in the whole earth will see it. Jesus will come the same way He left:
Acts 1:9–11 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
Jesus will come back in the clouds, the same way He left. And all will see Him. We know that on His return He will set foot on to the Mount of Olives from where He left (Zechariah 14:4). But before He sets foot down on the earth, the believers will be taken up to accompany Him back down. Jesus talks about His followers being gathered together:
Matthew 24:31 And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
There is so much here that time does not permit to elaborate. I believe this may refer to the rapture. Other commentators contend that the rapture will occur at some point earlier, that these are the gathering of those who were saved after the rapture. I’m not going to debate that here. But I know the angels will gather His people together and we will be part of the group returning with Jesus.
The world will be morning because they will be judged. We will read more about this in the latter part of Matthew 25 with the separation of the goats from the sheep.
Here is the message today. Jesus is coming. At the time of His coming it will be too late for most of the population of the earth. It will be too late to convert, too late to call Him Lord. Know this: There is coming a day when:
Philippians 2:10–11 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
One day, everyone will make that confession that Jesus is indeed Lord. The question remains, who will bow the knee and confess that Jesus is Lord now?
That Day when Jesus comes back will be a terrible day for most of the world. Will it be a day that will bring rejoicing for you? Whether we are present when Jesus comes or He gives us our last heart beat now, we all will see Jesus. Will you be part of the elect that the angels will gather from the four winds?
Part of our observance this Lord’s Supper is the looking ahead to having it with Lord at His return.
1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
We proclaim this to ourselves and one another. Let us now prepare our hearts and minds before partake in this supper.
[1] Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 1239.
[2] Stuart K. Weber, Matthew, vol. 1, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 403.
