The Apostle’s Creed
Together: I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead;
I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy *catholic church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
As we approach Christmas -- the first coming of Jesus; for the purpose of redeeming from sin and proclaim the Kingdom
Jesus WILL come again -- to complete what he began; not the work of salvation, but the outworking of it -- everything restored, renewed
Should Jesus not return, the whole thing of Christmas would be pointless. It would be a play with only the first act. Why bother going?
He shall come
"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11)
Personal coming (It will be Jesus and not some substitute)
A glorious coming
For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. (Luke 17:24)
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. (Matt.25:31)
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God (1Thes.4:16)
This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. (2Thes.1:7)
No wonder it says that Jesus is coming "to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed" (2Thes.1:10)
Visible (“Every eye will see him”)
Sudden (Not a gradual return)
Unexpected (Like a thief in the night -- not secretly, but unexpectedly; off guard).
What has to happen before Christ returns? How will we know when the time has drawn near?
Matt.24 - Wars, earthquakes, rumours of wars, famine (v.6-8) -- but very intense and large scale, and all happening at the same time; coupled with and in connection with the "great tribulation" (v.9); massive apostacy or turning from the faith, God and His laws (v.10); many false prophets (v.11); The gospel being preached to the ends of the earth (v.14)
The Antichrist, 666 or "man of lawlessness" (2Thes.2); who dethrones God, while enthroning himself (Mt.24:15 - the "abomination that causes desolation");not someone who simply opposes Christ, but is a RIVAL Christ; he defies God and His law very openly; appears to possess supernatural powers, and can perform miracles; launches great persecution against the Church/people of God
Signs in nature itself (v.29) -- followed by Christ’s return (v.30-31)
What about the "Rapture"? (believers being "caught up" with Christ)
Some believe that Jesus comes first secretly to rapture his church before the great "tribulation", takes them into heaven and then comes ultimately at the very end.
ie. Jesus returns more than once. BUT: The Bible always talks of ONE coming, THE coming. And this coming or return is always in connection with triumph and judgment. ie. the two will occur one after the other -- He comes TO judge.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1Thes.4:16-17)
This is simply describing how the living and the dead in Christ will all get to share in the triumph and glory of Christ in His return.
cp. to a Superbowl or Stanley Cup parade, or ancient Roman armies returning after defeating and conquering the enemies of Rome.
-ie. it is describing the one and same event: The second coming of Christ
APPLICATION:
1. That Jesus is coming again means that we have a "blessed hope" to cling to
-- regardless of circumstances, and all hell breaking lose; disease, divorce, abuse, persecution, anything that might cause anxiety, depression, fear -- nothing can keep Jesus from coming back in order to fix and restore all things, and draw us to himself.
Christmas is the promise that the God who came in history and comes daily in mystery will one day come in glory. God is saying in Jesus that in the end everything will be alright. Nothing can harm you permanently, no suffering is irrevocable, no loss is lasting, no defeat is more than transitory, no disappointment is conclusive. Jesus did not deny the reality of suffering, discouragement, disappointment, frustration, and death; he simply stated that the Kingdom of God would conquer all of these horrors, that the Father’s love is so prodigal that no evil could possibly resist it. -- Brennan Manning
2. Believing and contemplating this hope should cause us to be great risk-takers
-since we really have nothing to lose. We can risk sacrifice of every and any kind -- comfort, reputation, wealth, health, safety -- to the glory of God and the wellbeing of a lost and hopeless world.
ILL. CHRISTIANS DURING BLACK PLAGUE
3. This is a reality that we cannot be indifferent towards.
Now there is in store 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 longed for his appearing. (2 Tim.4:8)
-to long for his appearing is to long for him cp. When a loved one is away on a trip or is returning or visiting after a long absence
This is what it means to be a Christian -- not simply about getting forgiveness or becoming religious; not about no longer having to fear death or hell, but it is to long for the return of Jesus. Only those who love him long for him. You are not nuetral emotionally with regards to Jesus; not indifferent.
But you will not (CANnot) long for and hope in the second coming of Jesus until you have responded to His first coming. If Jesus coming, dying on a cross and rising from the dead is something you shrug your shoulders over, then His return will not be good news for you.
6God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. (2 Thes.1:6-10)
Christian: Do you long for His appearing? Or are we just as happy for Jesus to come back next week/year/10 years
If we are not longing for His return, what does that say about where our priorities are; where our hearts are?
Some may doubt the Lord Jesus’ coming in our own time, but the New Testament itself ends expressing what is the proper Christian attitude and prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.” And one of the great barriers to our drawing strength from this great truth is precisely our worldly-mindedness. We are caught up in the affairs of this world, even in the good things of this world, to the point that we fail to seek the better things. The good things that we enjoy here and now, the pace of our lives, squeeze out our desires for the better things, the best things, and keep us from meditating on, hoping in, and looking for the best things for God, for the coming of Christ, for fellowship with Him. -- Ligon Duncan
Love WHOSE appearing? Jesus our Savior; the one who laid his life down for us; the one who even now is preparing a place for us; the one for whom we were built; the King of righteousness and peace and joy; who is absolutely and completely for us (even though we forget all about him).
Joseph Stowell told about the problem at Shepherd’s Home. This institution in Union Grove Wisconsin was established to provide a loving home for the mentally impaired. Many children have been nurtured in Christian love through this home. Many have also come to know Christ as their Savior. They have also learned about the soon return of Jesus Christ. This is a teaching the children of Shepherd’s Home have taken seriously. And that is the problem - Each day the children run to the window to see if this is the day Jesus will return. They just can’t keep their windows clean!
How differently we would live our lives if we would long for the return of Jesus.
Repent! Pray that God would free our hearts from the enchantment of this world and the here and now.
