Several years ago, a businessman had to drive to Fort Wayne, Indiana, for work. He rented a big, brand-new, Chrysler 300 and enjoyed the ride so much that he blew past the first tollbooth. He had an I-PASS in his own car, so he didn’t think anything about it.
Then he realized that the rental car didn’t have an I-PASS, and he started to worry. He thought, “This car belongs to the rental-car company—not me. So they're probably responsible for any tolls, which may be covered in the cost of the rental.”
He drove past another toll, thinking, “Even if I am responsible for the tolls, there's only a few tolls between here and Indiana—maybe $4 round trip. I'm sure there's some threshold where they don't even bother sending you a bill for the tolls. I mean, it wouldn't be worth their time to send a bill for only $4. Nothing's going to happen!”
After he returned home from his business trip, a month or two went by. Nothing happened—and he knew nothing ever would. But then, six months later, he received a piece of mail that read: “Notice of Toll Violation.”
He was right, to a degree. The Tollway Authority didn’t bother sending him a bill for a measly $3.90 in tolls. But when they added in a $20 fine for every one of the 5 tollbooths he drove past, they did bother sending him a bill for $103.90!
He about had a heart attack. They had a photo of his rental-car's license plate and a record of the exact lane number he was in. The fact that months had gone by, and nothing had happened, didn't mean that nothing was ever going to happen (www. PreachingToday.com, April 2008).
A lot of people have the same attitude when it comes to Christ’s Second Coming. Nothing has happened so far, so they think that nothing will happen. But the signs of Christ’s Second coming are casting their shadow today like never before, and I believe something is about to happen.
We’ve been studying what Jesus has to say about the future in answer to three questions His disciples had asked him: When will the calamity come? What is the sign of Your coming? And what is the sign of the end of the age?
So Jesus answers those questions in reverse order: He described very clear signs for the end of the age. He described very clear signs for His Second Coming. And today, we’ll see His description of the timing of it all. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Matthew 24, Matthew 24, where Jesus sets the date for the coming tribulation and His Second Coming.
Matthew 24:36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only (ESV).
What? No date! I expected a date, and I’m sure His disciples did too. But Jesus makes it very clear: “No one knows except His Father in heaven.” Oh, Jesus COULD know the timing of His return, because as God He is omniscient! Rather, in His humanity, He chose NOT to know.
And that makes perfect sense when you understand the wedding customs in Jesus’ day. In Jesus’ day, when a man wanted to marry a woman, he would go to the woman’s home and negotiate a bridal price with her father. After he paid that price, he went back to his father’s house to prepare a place for him and his bride to live. That preparation usually took about a year under the watchful eye of the man’s father. Then, when the father declared that the place was ready, the man would return to his bride’s home and bring her back to their new home together. That’s why only the father knows the time. The man might try to rush his preparations in anticipation of bringing his bride home, but the father wouldn’t let him. Only when the father was satisfied that their place was ready, would he allow his son to go and get his bride.
2,000 years ago, Jesus came to our home and paid the bridal price for his bride, the church. He did not pay that price with silver or gold, no. He paid that price with His own shed blood on the cross (1 Peter 1:18-19). Jesus gave His life for His bride! Then He rose again, after which He went back to His Father’s house to prepare a place for her (John 14:2-3).
I’m sure Jesus wanted to come back as soon as possible for His bride, but His Father kept saying, “No, not yet.” Now, it’s been 2,000 years since He left, and that place must be nearly ready! Imagine, after all that time, how magnificent our new home will be. It can’t be long until the Father says to His Son, “Your new home is now ready. Go and get your bride!” Perhaps today! So dear believer, just...
WAIT FOR HIS COMING.
Anticipate your Lover’s return at any moment. Live in constant expectancy of Jesus’ arrival for you who know and love Him.
Don’t wait for signs. Wait for your Savior, because life will proceed normally right up until Jesus returns for His bride and the earth spirals into great tribulation.
Matthew 24:37-39 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man (ESV).
Before Jesus comes for His church, life will go on pretty much as usual. People will follow their ordinary pursuits, unaware of anything remarkable. Then suddenly, tribulation will come and sweep them into a flood of turmoil.
Now, for those of you who are concerned about an imminent catastrophe, a company named Vivos can help. The Vivos website says, “People are sensing that a global life-changing event is just ahead. Millions of people believe that we are living in the ‘end times.’ The governments of the world know something and have been bunkering up for decades. Why is nobody telling you to prepare? Obviously, to avoid a mass panic. What is your plan? Will your family be victims or survivors?”
Their solution is an airtight, fully self-contained Vivos shelter, designed to survive any catastrophe. Their website advertises “shelter complexes [which] comfortably accommodate large groups of people, in spacious living quarters, outfitted and stocked for a minimum of one year of autonomous survival to ride out the potential events. Vivos shelters include complete and fully furnished living quarters, with semi-private bedrooms, deluxe bathrooms, kitchen and dining areas, spacious lounges and meeting areas, computers, entertainment electronics, exercise equipment, a library or educational and entertainment materials, security devices, a detention area, vaults for valuables and munitions, a communications center, laundry facilities, repair shop, and more.”
Their website warns “that half or more of the US population will be dead within a year from the anarchy following a major catastrophic event.” But they offer their shelters as “the only known and practical solution for survival of all... catastrophes.” Members need to only arrive before their facility is locked down and secured from the chaos above. How much? Prices start at just $35,000 per person.
Their website even reminds you, “It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark” (Douglas Rushkoff, Present Shock, Penguin Group, 2013, p. 245; www.terravivos.com; www.PreachingToday.com).
How nice, but totally unnecessary for those who have put their faith in Christ. He is their shelter, and He will come to take them out of this world before all the chaos begins.
Matthew 24:40-41 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left (ESV).
The mill was so big, it took two women to operate it. They squatted opposite each other with the mill between them, so each in turn could pull the mill stone halfway around. D. A. Carson says, “The two are apt to be sisters, mother and daughter, or two household slaves. Yet no matter how close their relationship, one is taken, the other left (Carson, The Expositors Bible Commentary).
The same holds true for the two men in the field. They are apt to be brothers, father and son, or two slaves. Yet no matter how close their relationship, one is taken, the other left.
With no warning or sign, people will disappear from their homes and normal workplaces all over the world. Now, as we have seen in this chapter so far, there are very clear signs for the end of the age (vs.4-14); and there are very clear signs for Christ’s Second Coming to reign on this earth (vs.15-35); but there are no clear signs preceding people being taken out of this world. Life will be normal just as it was “until the day when Noah entered the ark” (vs.38).
Those taken are clearly believers in this context, because the ark took Noah and his family out before the flood overwhelmed those who were left behind. In the same way, Jesus will take believers out. Literally, He will receive them before the tribulation overwhelms those who are left or abandoned (as the Greek suggests).
1 Thessalonians 4 says, “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
It was common in Jesus’ day for citizens to go out of the city to meet their king as he returned from a long trip. That’s the picture Paul paints here in 1 Thessalonians 4. As Jesus, our King, returns after a long time away, believers go to meet Him “in the air” before He arrives on the earth. Then they will accompany Him on His return to this earth where they will rule and reign with Him for a thousand years (Zechariah 14:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; Revelation 19:14; 20:4).
Thus, Jesus will come at any moment FOR His saints. Then, He will come after the tribulation WITH His saints to reign.
So dear believer, don’t wait for any signs. Just wait for your Savior, who could come at any moment to take you out of this world. Wait, but don’t do it idly. Instead, while you’re waiting...
WATCH FOR HIS COMING.
Remain alert for Christ’s return, and prepare for His arrival.
Matthew 24:42-43 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into (ESV).
Thieves do not announce their arrival. They just show up at night to do their damage.
In fact, the law allowed a homeowner to kill a thief who broke in at night, rather than the day, because such a thief posed a greater threat (Exodus 22:2–3). He broke in at night expecting people to be home, most likely intending to do them bodily harm (C. S. Keener, 2014, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Second Edition, p. 110).
In the same way, Jesus will come for His saints unannounced, after which God’s judgment will fall on this earth. The Bible says, “The day of the Lord (i.e., the tribulation) will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3).
The believer should therefore “stay awake,” as Jesus says here. Remain alert and watch for His coming, so you can protect your family from the judgment to come. Alert them to the threat that’s coming, so they can find refuge in Christ, “who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9).
Matthew 24:44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect (ESV).
Prepare for the any moment, unannounced return of Christ for you!
Robby Robins was an Air Force pilot during the first Iraq war. After his 300th mission, he was surprised when his commanding officer gave him permission to immediately pull his crew together and fly his plane home. They flew across the ocean to Massachusetts and then had a long drive to western Pennsylvania. They drove all night, and when his buddies dropped him off at his driveway just after sun-up, there was a big banner across the garage—"Welcome Home Dad!”
How did they know? No one had called, and the crew themselves hadn't expected to leave so quickly. Robins relates, “When I walked into the house, the kids, about half dressed for school, screamed, 'Daddy!' Susan came running down the hall—she looked terrific—hair fixed, make-up on, and a crisp yellow dress. 'How did you know?' I asked.
'I didn't,' she answered through tears of joy. 'Once we knew the war was over, we knew you'd be home one of these days. We knew you'd try to surprise us, so we were ready every day.’” (Lee Eclov, in the sermon "Heaven," www.PreachingToday.com).
Oh my dear friends, be ready every day for Jesus’ arrival. Wait for His coming. Watch for His coming, and...
WORK UNTIL HE COMES.
Serve Him faithfully and wisely until He returns. Manage His affairs well until His arrival.
Matthew 24:45-47 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions (ESV).
When Jesus left, He put His followers in charge of His household, i.e., His church (Ephesians 2:19; 1 Timothy 3:15; 1 Peter 4:17), and He expects them to feed his church. Now, this certainly applies to church leaders, whom He calls to “preach the word... in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). But this also applies to all of Jesus’ followers, whom He has gifted to serve, so that “when each part is working properly makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:16).
You see, as you wait and watch for His coming, Jesus wants you to work to build up His church, to feed and nourish His body, to take care of His household, so that together we can reach out to a world in desperate need of a Savior. As we approach the day of Christ’s return, this is no time to sit idly by as we wait for Him, no! It’s time to get to work to expand His household, so that when He comes for His church, it is as full as it can be. Tell me. What are you doing to contribute to the ministry of Christ’s church? If nothing, then find a way to serve and get busy!
During his 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy often closed his speeches with the story of Colonel Davenport, the Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives. One day in 1789, the sky of Hartford darkened ominously, and some of the representatives, glancing out the windows, feared the end was at hand. Quelling a clamor for immediate adjournment, Davenport rose and said, “The Day of Judgement is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. Therefore, I wish that candles be brought” (Henry Heintz, Troy, New York. Leadership, Vol. 5, no. 2; www.PreachingToday.com).
Please, don’t fear the future. Instead, serve Christ faithfully until He returns.
As our world grows darker, let the light of Christ shine through you, and reject the darkness. Refuse to operate like the wicked world around you.
Matthew 24:48-51 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (ESV).
These are church people, but Jesus describes them as “wicked hypocrites.” They are not true believers. Oh, they look good in church on a Sunday morning, but their hearts are far from Him.
In the previous chapter, Jesus said of such people, “You are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27).
Several years ago (1989), Adele Gaboury, an elderly lady, disappeared. Her concerned neighbors in Worcester, Massachusetts, notified the police, but a brother told them that she had gone into a nursing home. Satisfied with that information, Gaboury's neighbors began watching her property. Michael Crowley noticed her mail, delivered through a slot in the door, piling high.
When he opened the door, hundreds of pieces of mail drifted out. He notified police, and the post office stopped deliveries. Gaboury's next-door neighbor, Eileen Dugan, started paying her grandson $10 twice a month to mow Gaboury's lawn. That winter, Dugan's son noticed Gaboury's pipes had frozen, spilling water out the door. He called the utility company to shut off the water.
While her neighbors did their best to keep the outside of her home looking nice, no one guessed that Gaboury had been inside her home all that time. When police finally investigated the house as a health hazard, they were shocked to find her body. The Washington Post (10/27/93) reported that police believe Gaboury had died of natural causes four years previously (Vialo Weis, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Leadership, Vol. 15, no. 3; www.PreachingToday.com).
The respectable, external appearance of Gaboury's house hid the reality of what was on the inside. In the same way, People can have a respectable, external appearance, but hide a decaying corpse on the inside. They look to be spiritually alive, but inside they are spiritually dead.
Please, look at your own heart. Do you see a living faith within? Or does your respectable, external appearance hide death within? If you see death, find life in Christ, who died for you and rose again. Trust Him with your life and let Him begin to transform you from the inside out.
Then, instead of hell, Jesus will assign you a place with Him when He comes again. Please, give Him your life before it is eternally too late! Don’t put it off, because Jesus could come at any moment for those who believe in Him.
Trust Christ with your life and wait for His coming, watch for His coming, and work until He comes out of a genuine, living faith in Him.
Wendy Zoba, talks about the time when her middle son, Ben, was very young. He had heard more than one sermon about the importance of surrendering his life to Christ. Ben seemed well-attuned to the heart of God; he exhibited the selfless and kind tendencies that would take some—like his mother—a lifetime of sanctification to acquire. So it disturbed his mom and dad when Ben stubbornly resisted their invitations for him to give his life to Christ. He would offer no explanations; he would simply tell us in his preschool English that he wasn't ready.
He resisted for several months. Then, one morning as they sat around the kitchen table eating their Cheerios, little Ben announced that he was ready to give his life to Christ. He then got up from the table and went upstairs. Mom and dad looked at each other and followed him. They expected to find Ben on his knees in prayer. They didn't. Instead, they found him folding his Star Wars pajamas into his Sesame Street suitcase.
They said, “Ben, what are you doing?”
He answered, “Packing.”
“Why?” they asked.
“To go to heaven,” he said.
They then understood why their son hesitated to give his life to Christ. He thought that in so doing, he would have to leave us and take up residence, literally, with Christ in heaven (Wendy Murray Zoba, “Future Tense,” Christianity Today magazine, October 2, 1995; www.PreachingToday.com)
Little Ben was ready to go! Are you?
