The Return of the King: Judgement
Jeffery Anselmi / General Adult
Kingdom Come / Last Judgment; Second Coming / 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11
Our lives are to be an ongoing announcement of Jesus’s presence among us.
INTRODUCTION
OPENING SLIDE
• We live in a world that loves countdowns.
• We count down to graduations, weddings, Christmas, and retirements, among other things.
• But there is one countdown that no clock on earth can track: the countdown to the return of Jesus.
• In a world lulled to sleep by comfort, convenience, and the illusion of control, there comes a trumpet sound, distant yet drawing closer.
• It’s the sound of a King returning, not in obscurity, but in glory.
• When kings return in earthly stories, it’s usually with fanfare, parades, and celebration.
• But when the true King returns, the world will not be prepared.
• It will not be a scheduled event on anyone’s calendar.
• No alert will pop up on a smartphone.
• It will break into history suddenly, like a thief in the night.
• As we open the Scriptures to 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, we step into a sobering and hope-filled message that shakes us from spiritual slumber and calls us to readiness.
• Paul, writing with love and prophetic urgency, reminds the Thessalonian church, and us today, that the return of Jesus Christ is not merely a theological concept but a reality that demands our attention, our preparation, and our action.
• For the lost souls of the world, it will be a moment of shock and judgment.
• For Christians, it will be a moment of hope fulfilled and glory revealed.
• When discussing the Second Coming, people often focus on the wrong aspects.
• The Apostle Paul encourages us to remain vigilant, not attempting to predict the exact date of the King's return, but to embrace each day as if it could be today.
• The purpose of our passage today isn’t to make us fearful; it’s to make us faithful.
• Our passage today is a call to live now with an eternal perspective.
• For the unprepared, it's a warning; for those in Christ, it's a hopeful promise.
• Today we will explore our passage through three lenses.
• Let’s turn to 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 as we examine the first lens.
1 Thessalonians 5:1–3 NET 2nd ed.
1 Now on the topic of times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you.
2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night.
3 Now when they are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape.
› One day—when the world least expects it—the sky will break open and the King will return.
› For some, it will be terror… for others, it will be the greatest joy they’ve ever known.
› The question isn’t if He’s coming—it’s whether we’re ready when He does.
Let’s begin our first thought
MAIN POINT 1 SLIDE
SERMON
I. The Timing
• Paul doesn’t give us a calendar date—he provides us a clear warning.
• The King’s return won’t be scheduled on our timeline; it will break in on His.
• And that’s where this passage begins: with the timing of the Day of the Lord.
• Paul begins by saying, 'Now concerning the topic of times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.'
• The phrase concerning "the times and the seasons” arises following the detailed instruction in the preceding verses (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18) regarding the Second Coming (or parousia), the resurrection of the dead in Christ, and the meeting in the air.
• One would think that, upon hearing this exciting news, the people were hungry to know WHEN!
• They wanted something to look forward to, something to celebrate!
• The reason why there was no need for anything to be written to the Thessalonians on this subject was not because the Thessalonian Christians already knew the date of the Lord’s return, but rather, the reason stems from the original instruction given to them by Paul and Silas when they were still present in Thessalonica.
• The instruction they received was that no one other than the Father—not Paul, not Silas, not Jesus Himself—knew the time of Christ’s return.
• Therefore, Paul and Silas were insisting on avoiding date setting, a point that aligns with Jesus’ teaching that no one knows the day or the hour of His coming.
• The Thessalonians had already been taught about Christ’s return.
TIMING SLIDE
• Paul’s point here is simple but vital: the exact timing is not for us to know.
• When we move to verse 2, there seems to be tension between the unexpected, private nature of the "day of the Lord" coming "like a thief in the night" and the loud, public description of the Lord's return in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
• This tension is resolved by recognizing that the "thief in the night" analogy applies specifically to the unexpected timing for the unbelievers.
• The public events described in Chapter 4 confirm that the return will not be a secret.
• Jesus Himself used this same comparison to illustrate the unexpectedness of His coming in Matthew 24:42-44.
Matthew 24:42–44 NET 2nd ed.
42 “Therefore stay alert, 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 been alert and would not have let his house be broken into.
44 Therefore you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
• Paul’s target audience for this warning is the unbelievers ("they").
PEACE AND SAFETY SLIDE
• Unbelievers are characterized as those who are saying, "Peace and safety!" while neglecting spiritual needs.
• They live in spiritual "darkness."
• For this group, sudden destruction will come upon them suddenly.
• The day of the Lord will be a disaster for those who do not believe and do not await Him expectantly.
• This teaches us that the return of Christ will be unexpected and inescapable.
• Like labor pains that come suddenly upon a pregnant woman, the judgment of God will break in when people least expect it.
• For those who live without a relationship with Christ, this day will be one of terror.
• For the unbelieving world, it will not be a time to prepare—it will be too late.
• The warning is clear: don’t be lulled into complacency by a false sense of peace.
• Just because life seems stable now does not mean we are safe from the coming judgment of God.
• Just as Noah preached righteousness in his day and people went on eating and drinking until the flood came, so too will the return of the King be for many a shocking moment of reckoning.
• We have had prediction after prediction concerning the coming of the Lord; we have had books written about the event.
• Many of them are poor theology that sells books and movies.
• People seem fascinated by the concept of the return.
• If you want to get people’s attention, even in church, teach on Revelation, and if you want to get people excited, butcher the book so that what you teach aligns with the popular books and movies.
• In chapter 4, Paul TELLS us how it will all go down.
• Knowing how it is going down, what is important is not when it will happen, but what am I supposed to be doing until He comes.
• The early church didn’t have countdown clocks; they lived with a sense of urgency.
• We can’t control the when.
• But we can absolutely control the how—how we live while we wait.
• The timing of Jesus’ return is not designed to satisfy curiosity; it’s designed to stir commitment.
GOD”S CLOCK SLIDE
God’s Clock Doesn’t Run on Our Calendar
• The Thessalonians didn’t need a date, and neither do we.
• The church isn’t called to sit around trying to figure out the schedule.
• We’re called to live every day as if today could be the day.
• If we can’t know the when, what do we do while we wait?
• Paul’s answer is clear: God’s people live ready.
• We stay awake.
• We stay alert.
• That’s where he goes next.
1 Thessalonians 5:4–8 NET 2nd ed.
4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would.
5 For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness.
6 So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert and sober.
7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.
8 But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation.
MAIN POINT 2 SLIDE
II. The Preparation
Paul reminds the folks that they have a different identity!
DIFFERENT SLIDE
• Paul draws a clear line between them and us… between those living in darkness and those living in the light (the saved and the lost).
• The unbelieving world will be caught off guard, but the people of God don’t live in the dark.
• We live in the light of His promises.
• While the world may be caught unaware, Paul tells the Christians, ‘But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would.’
• We do not live in ignorance or confusion.
• As children of light and of the day, we are called to be alert and sober.
• Notice the shift here: Paul moves from a declaration about the timing to a declaration about the believer’s identity.
• Knowing who we are in Christ shapes how we live in anticipation of His return.
• This section is not a passive waiting; it is an active preparation.
• You’re a child of the light.
• You’ve been rescued from darkness.
• You’re not stumbling around, unaware of what’s coming.
• The world is asleep in sin, but you’re awake in grace.
• The world is blind to the King’s return, but you live with your eyes wide open.
• For you are all sons of light and sons of day
• This is who you are.
• And identity determines behavior.
DIFFERENT ATTITUDE SLIDE
Because we have a different identity, we must also have a different attitude!
1 Thessalonians 5:6 NET 2nd ed.
6 So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert and sober.
• Sleep” here isn’t talking about bedtime; it’s talking about spiritual carelessness.
• It’s living like there’s no urgency.
• It’s ignoring the reality of eternity.
• The people of the light live differently.
• We stay alert—watching, expecting, ready.
• We stay sober—self-controlled, not spiritually drunk on the world.
• While the world drifts off, the church stands watch.
DIFFERENT ARMOR SLIDE
Because we have a different identity, we also possess a different armor!
• We are to remain vigilant, putting on ‘the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.’
• These are not just abstract virtues.
• Faith grounds us in the truth of the Gospel.
• Love keeps us rooted in practical obedience and care for others.
• Hope gives us strength to endure the struggles of this world.
• A soldier without armor is defenseless.
• The believer without a spiritual mind and guarded heart is vulnerable to the darkness.
• But God has given us what we need to be watchful in an age that is asleep.
• This preparation is not about fear but about readiness, a life that matches the truth we believe.
1 Thessalonians 5:9–11 NET 2nd ed.
9 For God did not destine us for wrath but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
10 He died for us so that whether we are alert or asleep we will come to life together with him.
11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, just as you are in fact doing.
MAIN POINT 3 SLIDE
III. The Duty
• If the King is coming, then being ready isn’t enough—it’s time to rise up, stand together, and do our duty.
• In the final section of our text, Paul ends it with hope.
• Since we have the blessing of not being destined for wrath, but rather, salvation through Jesus, we have a duty to rise up to that joyous occasion.
We have a certain destiny when we live faithfully for Jesus!
• That is good news.
• For the unbeliever, the Day of the Lord means judgment.
• For those who are faithful to Jesus, it means salvation.
• We are not on the schedule for judgment; instead, we are on the schedule for deliverance.
• God has not left us wondering about our fate.
• Through Christ, we have been given a secure future.
• Whether we’re alive when Jesus returns or have already gone to be with Him, the end result is the same: we will live with Him forever.
• We are not simply escaping from God’s wrath; we will be thriving in His presence for eternity!
• With this thought in mind, we have a duty to perform.
• Part of our duty is to make sure we are ready for His return, but the other part of the duty is to encourage and build one another up until the time comes!
• We live in a broken, distracted world, but the church must be a community that keeps pointing each other back to the coming of Jesus.
• This is our duty in the community of faith—to speak truth into each other’s lives, to remind one another that Christ is coming, and that our hope is not shaken by the world’s instability.
• This is part of the reason that at FCC we strive to do things that build community.
• We do things to help us to grow close enough to each other so we can encourage and build one another up.
• Men, we NEED this; you need to be involved in our Men’s Connect Ministry.
• Ladies, you need to get involved in our Women’s Connect Ministry.
• Youth, you need to be plugged into our youth groups!
• We all need to do more than rush into church and run out the doors as quickly as we can so we do not have to talk to anyone.
• Encouragement is not optional in the body of Christ; it is essential.
• Living in light of Christ’s return should not lead us to isolation or fear, but to deeper fellowship and greater service.
• The church is God’s chosen instrument to help His people stay alert, equipped, and encouraged as we await the return of the King.
The King Is Coming—So Let’s Live Like It
CLOSING SLIDE
CONCLUSION
• The return of Christ is certain.
• The timing may be hidden, but our preparation and responsibility are clear.
• Will we live awake and alert, confidently wearing the armor of faith, love, and hope?
• Will we fulfill our duty to one another, building each other up in the truth?
• Let’s not be caught unaware or live as if judgment is far off.
• Let’s live today in the light of eternity, knowing that the King is returning—and for those in Christ, that is not a threat, but a glorious promise.
• Judgment is coming, but for God’s children, salvation has already been secured.
• Let us live like people who believe it.
